Saddam in court again after death sentence

Baghdad, Nov 7: Two days after being sentenced to death by hanging for crimes against humanity, ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was back in court today to face genocide charges against ethnic Kurds in the late 1980s in a separate trial.

An appellate court will review Saddam's death sentence, meaning no execution is likely before next year.

Saddam, who on Sunday met his death sentence with defiant cries of ''Allahu Akbar!'' (God is Greatest) and ''Long live Iraq!'' was subdued today when he appeared in court.

Dressed in a black suit and tieless shirt, he filed into the heavily fortified courtroom and took his seat quietly after he was called in by the judge.

Saddam and six co-defendants face charges of genocide for their roles in the 1988 Anfal (Spoils of War) military campaign against ethnic Kurds. Prosecutors say up to 180,000 Kurds were killed, many of them by gas.

Saddam was found guilty of crimes against humanity for ordering hundreds of Shi'ites killed or tortured in the town of Dujail following an assassination attempt on his life in 1982.

Reuters

Related Stories