Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” and 14 other defendants will face charges over the brutal crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War next week when Iraq’s third trial against former regime officials gets under way.

Saddam Hussein’s cousin known as “Chemical Ali” and two other former regime officials were today sentenced to hang for their roles in a 1980s scorched-earth campaign that led to the deaths of 180,000 Kurds.

Saddam Hussein and one of his co-defendants were ejected from the courtroom in a tumultuous session in Baghdad today that saw the Iraqi defendants engage in a shouting match with the chief judge.

The chief judge in Saddam Hussein’s genocide trial threw the ex-president out of the Baghdad courtroom today in a stormy session boycotted by the former ruler’s defence team.

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.