Iraq’s highest appeals court upheld the death sentence for Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s national security adviser said today.

Saddam Hussein’s lawyers today appealed the death sentence against their toppled Iraqi leader, accusing the court of trying to delay the process.

Baghdad and two restive Sunni provinces were today locked under 24-hour curfew in the wake of Saddam Hussein’s death sentence for crimes against humanity in Iraq.

A 56-year-old Kurdish woman told of seeing people sickened and dying during an alleged chemical attack carried out by Saddam Hussein’s forces, as the genocide trial of the ex-president resumed in Baghdad today after nearly a three-week break.

A Kurdish woman described huddling with her children in a cave as warplanes bombarded her village with chemical weapons in testimony today at the Baghdad genocide trial of Saddam Hussein.

Saddam Hussein opened his second Baghdad trial with a show of defiance today, refusing to enter a plea on charges of genocide and war crimes connected to his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds nearly two decades ago.

Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is set to face a second trial tomorrow - this time on charges of genocide and war crimes related to his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds two decades ago.

An Iraqi tribunal is incapable of fairly and effectively trying Saddam Hussein and six others on genocide charges for their role in the killing of an estimated 100,000 Kurds in the 1980s, a major human rights group said today.

An American lawyer on Saddam Hussein’s defence team today lashed out at the Baghdad court trying him, saying it was not giving the defence enough time to present its case, intimidated its witnesses and put the defence at “a serious disadvantage”.

Saddam Hussein’s former intelligence chief was pulled out of the court by guards today in a stormy argument with the judge after the defence accused the prosecution of putting a perjured witness on the stand and trying to buy another witness.

Saddam Hussein and his defence team today complained about unfairness in his trial on crimes against humanity, demanding equal time to present their case and saying one of their witnesses had been killed and others wouldn’t testify because they were wanted by authorities.

The authenticity of Saddam Hussein’s signature on documents connected to a crackdown on Shiites was confirmed by experts, prosecutors said today in a new session of the former Iraqi leader's trial.

Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein appeared in a Baghdad court today for questioning by judges and prosecutors in a new session of his trial on charges of killings of Shiites in the 1980s.

Saddam Hussein and three co-defendants today claimed they had launched a hunger strike to protest against the chief judge in their trial.

A noticeably calmer Saddam Hussein sat quietly in his defendant’s chair at the resumption of his trial today, two weeks after he called the court “unjust” and boycotted a session. When the judge refused to let him take a break to pray, the former leader closed his eyes and appeared to pray from his seat.

Saddam Hussein and seven senior members of his toppled regime go on trial tomorrow to face charges they ordered the 1982 killings of nearly 150 people from the mainly Shiite town of Dujail following a failed attempt on Saddam’s life.

An Iraqi court has decided to begin the first trial of Saddam Hussein on October 19 and is in the process of notifying his legal team, a legal official said today.

Saddam Hussein could be executed if he is sentenced to death in the first of several anticipated trials – even if other proceedings against him are still pending, an official close to the proceedings said today.