Saddam trial defence lawyer found shot dead

A defence lawyer in Saddam Hussein’s mass murder trial who was kidnapped has been found dead, his body dumped near a Baghdad mosque, police and a top lawyers’ union official said today.

Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi was abducted by 10 masked gunmen who burst into his office and dragged him away yesterday evening, a day after he participated in the first session of the trial, acting as the lawyer of one Saddam’s seven co-defendants.