Lawyer: Saddam death sentence would 'open gates of hell'

If Saddam Hussein is condemned to death when the verdict in his first trial is handed down on Sunday, it would “open the gates of hell” to US forces in Iraq, a lawyer for the deposed president said today.

Bushra al-Khalil, a Lebanese lawyer who was thrown out of Saddam’s trial in May, also accused US President George Bush of exploiting Saddam’s expected death sentence for “electoral purposes”.