Saddam Hussein’s cousin, known as “Chemical Ali” and 14 others went on trial today on charges of crimes against humanity related to the brutal crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.

In an internet letter in the name of Saddam Hussein, the deposed dictator has called on Iraqis not to hate the invaders of their country.

An appeals court decision upholding Saddam Hussein’s death sentence is final and does not require the approval of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, a presidential spokesman said today.

Saddam Hussein’s lawyers have formally appealed against his death sentence for the killing of 148 Shiites.

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

US-based Human Rights Watch today said that the trial against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in which he was sentenced to death for crimes against humanity was not carried out fairly.

IRISH bishops have condemned the death sentence imposed on deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Iraq's appeals court is expected to rule on Saddam Hussein's guilty verdict and death sentence by the middle of January, the chief prosecutor said today.

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.

SADDAM HUSSEIN was convicted and sentenced yesterday to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shi’ite town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted “God is great”.

The top UN human rights official today urged Iraq to ensure former President Saddam Hussein a fair appeals process, and to refrain from executing him even if the death penalty is upheld.

US and Iraqi forces set up extra checkpoints, boosted patrols, and blocked traffic across a main Baghdad bridge today, one day before the expected announcement of a verdict – and possible death sentence – in the trial of former leader Saddam Hussein.

Iraq’s defence minister today cancelled leave for all army officers, apparently fearing violence after Sunday’s expected announcement of a verdict in the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Saddam Hussein’s chief lawyer vowed to continue boycotting his Kurdish genocide trial today to protest the removal of the trial’s first chief judge and the court’s refusal to allow defence lawyers to examine thousands of documents.

The chief judge in Saddam Hussein’s genocide trial was replaced today amid complaints from Shiite and Kurdish officials that he was too soft on the former Iraqi leader, a move that could raise accusations of government interference in the highly sensitive case.

A DEFIANT Saddam Hussein shouted at prosecutors and refused to enter a plea yesterday at the opening of his second trial, in which he faces charges of genocide and war crimes connected to his scorched-earth offensive against the Kurds nearly two decades ago.

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.

The second trial of Saddam Hussein began today, opening a new legal chapter for the ousted Iraqi leader, who is charged with genocide and war crimes from his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds nearly two decades ago.

A new legal chapter opens today for Saddam Hussein when the ousted Iraqi leader goes on trial for a second time, charged with genocide and war crimes from 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.

Court-appointed lawyers today submitted final summations for the last two defendants in Saddam Hussein’s trial in Baghdad.

The Iraqi High Tribunal today announced that Saddam Hussein and six co-defendants will be put on trial on August 21 for the 1980s Anfal campaign in which an estimated 100,000 Kurds were killed in northern Iraq.

Skeletons, many wearing clothes and blindfolded, jut out from the desert sands in south-western Iraq where forensics experts have unearthed at least two mass graves of victims from the brutal suppression of a 1991 Shiite uprising.

IRAQI authorities yesterday filed genocide charges against Saddam Hussein, accusing him and six co-defendants in the 1980s crackdown that killed an estimated 100,000 Kurds.

A bomb exploded alongside a group of Iraqi men waiting for work in eastern Baghdad today, killing at least eight and wounding more than 50.

The No. 2 judge in the Saddam Hussein trial should not replace the resigning chief judge because of claims he belonged to the once-ruling Baath Party, according to the head of the body working to rid Baathists from Iraqi institutions.

Prosecutors in The Hague today open their case against a Dutch businessman who faces charges of complicity in genocide for supplying chemicals to deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

A combative Saddam Hussein lashed out today over his treatment by US guards and demanded that the chief judge stand up to American “occupiers and invaders” as his trial for crimes against humanity resumed in a heavily guarded Baghdad court.

Defence lawyers will attend next week’s trial of Saddam Hussein and former top members of his regime, dropping a threat to boycott the proceedings because of the killing of two counsel, a spokesman for the defence said today.