Death sought in trial
BAGHDAD, Iraq — The prosecutor in the Saddam Hussein trial demanded the death penalty today for the deposed leader and two of his top co-defendants.
Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi said in closing arguments that the former Iraqi leader and his regime committed crimes against humanity in a "revenge" attack on Shiite civilians in the 1980s.
The arguments brought the eight-month-old trial into its final phase, and after today's session, the court adjourned until July 10.
Saddam, dressed in a black suit, sat silently, sometimes taking notes, as chief prosecutor al-Moussawi delivered his arguments, listing the evidence against each of the eight defendants.
Concluding his remarks, al-Moussawi asked for the death penalty against Saddam, his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former senior regime member. "They were spreading corruption on earth ... and even the trees was not save from their oppression," he said.
"Well done," Saddam muttered sarcastically.
Saddam and his co-defendants are accused to arresting hundreds of people, including women and children, torturing some to death and killing 148 who were sentenced to death for a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam.
Chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman told the court that the day's session would be dedicated solely to hearing the prosecution's closing.
The prosecutor claimed the shooting attack on Saddam's motorcade that sparked the crackdown was "not real but was fabricated because there is no evidence that it took place."
