Prosecution asks for death penalty against Saddam

The prosecutor asked for the death penalty against Saddam Hussein and two of his top co-defendendants, saying in his closing arguments Monday that the former Iraqi leader and his regime committed crimes against humanity in a "revenge" attack on Shi'ite civilians in the 1980s. Saddam, dressed in a black suit, sat silently, sometimes taking notes, as chief prosecutor Jaafar 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.