Death sentence for three Saddam aides

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BAGHDAD, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- Three aides to Saddam Hussein were sentenced to death by an Iraqi court for the repression of Kurds during the 1980s' Iraq-Iran war, officials said.

"The High Criminal Court issued death sentences against Saadoun Shaker, Mizban Khuder Hadi and Aziz Salih al-Noaman by hanging after finding them guilty on charges of genocide against the Faili Kurds," a court official told Xinhua news agency

During the eight-year war between Iraq and Iran, Faili Kurds were either exiled to Iran or executed by Saddam's security forces for not being loyal to the Iraqi regime.

Shaker was Iraq's interior minister during the 1980s, while the other two were top officials in Saddam's Baath party during the same period.

Two of Saddam's brothers were found not guilty in the case, the court official said.

Other co-defendants in the case, including former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, were given prison sentences of 10 to 20 years.

An Iraqi court had already sentenced Aziz to death Oct. 26 for his role in eliminating religious parties during Saddam's regime.