Iraqi official says no date set for Barzan hanging

BAGHDAD, Jan 3 (Reuters) Iraqi authorities have not yet set a date to hang Saddam Hussein's half-brother and a former judge convicted with him for crimes against humanity, a senior adviser to the prime minister said today.

Arabic news channels reported that Barzan al-Tikriti, Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence chief, and Awad al-Bander, a former chief judge, could be hanged as early as Thursday morning, but Sami Al-Askari, a senior aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said no date had been set.

''This is not accurate information. Most probably they will be executed next week after the holiday,'' Askari told Reuters.

The two were found guilty along with Saddam in the killings of 148 Shi'ite men from Dujail in the 1980s.

Saddam was hanged on Saturday, the first day of the Eid al- Adha holiday, just four days after the failure of their appeal.

Today is the last day of the religious holiday for Shi'ites in Iraq, but the government has declared a public holiday lasting until Saturday.

Before Saddam's hanging, there were conflicting reports about when it would happen and the government took the final decision only a few hours before the execution.

REUTERS BDP DS1615