Iraq vice president rejects death sentence

Iraq's fugitive vice president has declared his "absolute innocence" and rejected the terror trial that sentenced him to death on charges of masterminding the murder of rivals.

Tariq al-Hashemi, a Sunni, who fled Iraq after the government brought the charges against him, called the trial illegitimate and accused Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite and long-time foe, of orchestrating it as part of a political vendetta.