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Prosecutors Call For Death for Saddam

The trial of deposed former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein continued on Monday this week, with prosecutors in Baghdad calling for the heaviest possible penalty - death. Lawyers said Saddam`s half-brother and intelligence chief tortured prisoners and sent others to die in the desert. A lawyer for victims of a 1982 crackdown against Shi`ites told the court, "We demand the court inflict the utmost punishments and also demand the financial and moral compensation for our clients for the damage they received."

Saddam, his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan al-Tikriti, and the six other defendants will face death by hanging if found guilty. They are charged with the slaying of 148 Shi`ites in Dujail during a 1982 crackdown against Shi`ites. The crackdown was launched after an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Saddam. He has defended himself saying he was President at the time of the crackdown, and he was also faced with war against Iran.

The lawyers for the Dujail victims preferred to remain anonymous, saying they feared for their lives. The trial has been marred by the slaying of two defense lawyers, the resignation of a judge and continuous threats on prosecutors from Saddam loyalists. If found guilty, Saddam and his co-defendants could appeal the court`s verdict. The former president who has been reduced to defendant also faces other war crimes and genocide charges.