Saddam henchman to die by noose

Aziz was charged with taking part in a campaign against members of the Dawa Party, of which Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is a member.

A fluent English speaker and the only Christian in the senior leadership of Saddam's mainly Sunni regime, Aziz became internationally known as the dictator's defender and a fierce critic of Western powers, as foreign minister after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Aziz, 74, predicted in a recent interview that he expected to die in prison, but is expected to appeal his death sentence.

He has already been convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison for his role in the 1992 execution of 42 merchants who were found guilty of profiteering.

He also received a seven-year prison sentence for a case involving the forced displacement of Kurds in northern Iraq.

His lawyer Badee Izzat Aref said the court's decision was politically motivated.

He went on to accuse Mr al-Maliki's Shiite-led government of trying to divert attention from recent WikiLeaks revelations, where leaked military documents detail torture and abuse by Iraqi security forces and the US military.

"This sentence is not fair and it is politically motivated," he said.

Aziz's son Ziad said that the death sentence was "unfair" and "illogical."

He said his father was the victim, not the criminal, since Dawa Party members tried to assassinate him in 1980.

"This is an illogical and an unfair sentence that is serving political goals of the Iraqi government," he said.

"Tariq Aziz himself was the victim of the religious parties that tried to kill him in 1980, but now he is turned to a criminal."

Aziz surrendered to US forces about a month after the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

He was held at an American prison in Baghdad until the US handed over control of the facility in July to the Iraqi government.

When Aziz was transferred to Iraqi custody, his family said they were worried about his health in Baghdad's Kazimiyah prison, where he is being held now. He has suffered several strokes while in Iraqi custody and used a cane for support during recent court appearances.

Meanwhile, a British inquest heard how a soldier killed himself in Iraq after he was stationed on the same base as his soon-to-be ex-wife as their marriage broke down.

Cpl Lee Churcher shot himself in the head in his bedroom in Basra on December 11 2008.

The 32-year-old father-of-two was serving with Headquarters 20th Armoured Brigade and an inquest at Coventry Coroner's Court heard Cpl Churcher, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, was serving on the same base as Warrant Officer Michelle Churcher.

Cpl Churcher had had a string of affairs and a problem with alcohol, as well as previously taking anti-depressants.

WO2 Churcher told the inquest she did not think her husband should have been in Iraq.

Recording a verdict of suicide, assistant deputy coroner Jason Pegg said commanders should consider the wisdom of deploying people to the front line under such circumstances.