The official video of hanging of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants screened for reporters today shows the former leader's half brother lying headless below gallows, his severed head several yards away.

The half-brother of Saddam Hussein and the former head of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court were hanged before dawn today, two weeks and two days after the former dictator was executed in a disturbing scene that drew worldwide criticism.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani today called for the execution of two of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants to be delayed.

Two of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants were taken from their cells and told they were going to be hanged on the same day the former Iraqi dictator was executed, their lawyer said.

Saddam top aide wishes he had been executed with the deposed leader, an Iraqi lawyer said today.

An Iraqi government official today said that preparations were being made to hang two of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants tomorrow.

IRAQ’S highest appeals court yesterday upheld the death sentence on Saddam Hussein.

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

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 yesterday.

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.

Defiant, raging and arrogant to the end, Saddam Hussein shouted: “God is great,” as he was sentenced to hang, then walked from the courtroom with a smirk on his face.

Iraq’s High Tribunal today found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to hang for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail. The visibly shaken former leader shouted “God is great”.

Iraq's High Tribunal today found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to death by hanging.

A verdict against Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants charged with crimes against humanity in connection with an anti-Shiite crackdown in the 1980s will be announced on November 5, a senior court official said today.

The chief judge in Saddam Hussein’s trial today brushed aside prosecution demands to step down for letting the ex-president make political statements, as more witnesses told of chemical attacks against Kurds – a charge for which the ex-president could receive a death sentence.

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 was hospitalised and fed with a tube on the 17th day of a hunger strike to ensure he was healthy enough to continue with his trial, the chief prosecutor said. The procedure came as the ex-leader’s troubled trial nears a verdict that could lead to his hanging.

Two defendants in the Baghdad trial of Saddam Hussein made their closing arguments today, but the judge then adjourned for nearly two weeks in an attempt to resolve a boycott of the court by the former Iraqi leader and his lawyers.

One of Saddam Hussein’s lawyers was killed today after he was abducted from his home by men wearing police uniforms in Baghdad.

THE prosecution yesterday asked for the death penalty against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and two of his co-defendants.

A prosecutor has asked for the death penalty against former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and two of his co-defendants, saying today that the former Iraqi leader and his regime committed crimes against humanity in a “revenge” attack on Shiite civilians in the 1980s.

The prosecution began giving its closing arguments in the Baghdad trial of Saddam Hussein today.

The chief judge declared an end to the hearing of defence witnesses in the trial of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad today and said the prosecution will present its closing argument next week.

Saddam Hussein’s former intelligence chief was manhandled by guards as they dragged him out of court today for arguing with the judge, fuelling defence protests that it is being treated unfairly in the trial of the ousted Iraqi leader and members of his regime.

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.

The chief judge threw out one of the top defendants in the Saddam Hussein trial amid fierce arguments today as the prosecution and defence accused each other’s witnesses of lying.

SADDAM HUSSEIN’S trial resumed yesterday, and heard that his regime was justified in a crackdown on Shi’ites.

Tariq Aziz, once a close member of Saddam Hussein’s inner circle, took the stand today as a defence witness in the Baghdad trial of the former Iraqi leader.

Saddam Hussein was today formally charged with crimes against humanity, including torture of women and children, murder and the illegal arrest of 399 people in a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980s. A defiant Saddam refused to enter a plea.

Prosecutors in the Baghdad trial of Saddam Hussein today played an audiotape said to be a phone call between the former Iraqi leader and one of his co-defendants discussing the destruction of farmlands during a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980s.

Handwriting experts authenticated Saddam Hussein’s signature on memos approving death sentences for 148 Shiites and the confiscation of farmlands during an Iraqi crackdown in the 1980s, the chief judge in the former Iraqi leader’s trial said today.

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.

Saddam Hussein testified today for the first time at his trial, calling on Iraqis to stop a bloody wave of sectarian violence and instead fight American troops, prompting the chief judge to close the courtroom, saying he was making political speeches.

Saddam Hussein’s half-brother, former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, has denied taking part in a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980s as he testified today for the first time in the trial of the former Iraqi leader and members of his regime.

A former judge from Saddam Hussein’s regime acknowledged sentencing 148 Shiites to death in the 1980s, but insisted they were given a proper trial and had confessed to trying to assassinate the former Iraqi leader.

Three of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants testified for the first time today, denying any role in the deaths and arrests of Shiites in the 1980s, as the trial of the former Iraqi leader entered a new phase.

PROSECUTORS at Saddam Hussein's trial presented a document yesterday they said was signed by the former leader approving the executions of more than 140 Shi'ites in southern Iraq after an assassination attempt in the 1980s.

Saddam Hussein’s defence lawyers ended their month-long boycott of his Baghdad trial, attending proceedings today even though the judge rejected their demands that he step down.

After shouts, insults, arguments and walkouts, Saddam Hussein and three of his co-defendants unveiled a new show-stealing tactic: hunger strikes.

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

Saddam Hussein shouted his support for Iraqi insurgents, yelling “Long live the mujahedeen” in the latest session of his Baghdad trial today.