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Saddam lawyer to sue Iraq for execution abuse as grisly new video emerges
Caitlin Price at 6:37 PM ET

[JURIST] A defense lawyer for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] has said she intends to sue the Iraqi government for allowing the ousted leader to be taunted moments before his execution and for allegedly allowing his body to be abused afterwards. Bushra al-Khalil [profile] told a Saudi newspaper Sunday that she plans to file her action in the International Court of Justice [official website], although she did not offer details. Khalil also said she objected to the reported [Corriere della Sera report] presence at the execution of Shiite leaders Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and Muqtada al-Sadr, personal enemies of Hussein, and said she will push for the exhumation of Saddam's body. Shouts of "Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada" were heard on a grainy cell phone camera video shot at the hanging [JURIST report]. Ynet has more.

On the heels of this report new video [WARNING: extremely graphic images] appeared on pro-Saddam websites Monday of what appeared to be the body of Saddam on a gurney after execution, showing his neck twisted at a sharp angle and a gaping throat wound one would not immediately associate with a hanging injury. It too seems to have been shot by a cell phone camera; the accompanying audio, with men talking about being in a hurry as a sheet is pulled off Saddam's head and upper body, suggests that it was shot surreptitiously. AP has more.

The US military in Iraq is currently screening [AFP report] Hussein's books and notes and other personal effects, including his copy of the Qur'an, from his jail stay before turning them over to his lawyers