Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should answer for his actions, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Sunday in the Uruguayan capital, where he was attending the Ibero-American summit.

Saddam was found guilty on Sunday by the Iraqi High Tribunal of crimes against humanity and sentenced to hang in a case involving the deaths of Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail.

"Like any other political leader, Saddam Hussein should answer for his actions," Zapatero said in a press conference.

But Zapatero reiterated the European Union's opposition to the capital punishment sentence. Also, Zapatero said he considered that the situation in Iraq was worsening, and the number of deaths was increasing.

He stressed that the U.S-led Iraqi war was a "grave error" and called for a change of strategy in Iraq in order to end the difficulties in the war-torn country.

Zapatero withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq after his 2004 election victory.