Black graffiti lauding Saddam Hussein appeared overnight in his home town and small groups of mourners turned out at his grave on Sunday, the first anniversary of the former Iraqi leader’s execution.

“There is no life without the sun and no dignity without Saddam,” read one painted slogan in his home town, Tikrit, north of Baghdad. “Paradise for the hero Saddam,” read another.

The graffiti appeared on buildings including the town’s police station and its agriculture and electricity directorates.

[more on this subject on Reuters]