'Saddam informant' on trial in US

An Iraqi-born American citizen collected intelligence on Assyrian groups in the United States for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and failed to notify US government officials, a prosecutor said yesterday.

William Shaoul Benjamin (aged 67), of Los Angeles, is charged with conspiracy, failing to register as an agent of a foreign government and making false statements.

If convicted in his federal court trial, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Assistant US Attorney Judith Heinz said that Benjamin was a paid informant for the Iraqi Intelligence Service after coming to the US in 1992.