Baghdad
Saddam Hussein was admitted to a hospital for intravenous feeding this week after collapsing in his jail cell. The former Iraqi dictator has been on a hunger strike for more than two weeks as a protest against inadequate security for his defense team. Three of his lawyers have been killed over the course of his 10-month-long trial. Saddam’s half-brother, former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, has also been on a hunger strike but was still feisty this week. At the beginning of closing arguments, he argued with the judge and refused to accept a court-appointed lawyer. The trial could result in death sentences for Saddam, Barzan, and their co-defendants for allegedly ordering a massacre of Shiites in 1982.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why has Tulip Siddiq resigned?In Depth Economic secretary to the Treasury named in anti-corruption investigations in Bangladesh
-
The controversy over rewilding in the UKThe Explainer 'Irresponsible and illegal' release of four lynxes into Scottish Highlands 'entirely counterproductive' say conservationists
-
How to decide on the right student loan repayment planThe explainer President-elect Donald Trump seems unlikely to approve more student loan forgiveness, so you may want to consider other options
