Saddam Nephew Gets Life in Prison
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A nephew of Saddam Hussein was sentenced Monday to life in prison for funding Iraq's violent insurgency and for bomb-making, the government said in announcing the first verdict against a family member of the ousted leader.
Ayman Sabawi (search), the son of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan (search), a half brother of Saddam, was captured in May by security forces during a raid on Tikrit, the former leader's hometown. His father, Al-Hassan, who served as a presidential adviser before the U.S.-led invasion, was captured there two months earlier.
The Iraqi authorities had not announced that Sabawi's trial was under way.
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Tareq Khalaf Mizal (search), who was arrested with Sabawi, also was convicted for possessing and making of roadside bombs. He was given a six-year sentence.
The Iraqi Central Criminal Court in Baghdad said Sabawi would face a second trial beginning Nov. 1 for other, unspecified crimes to which he allegedly confessed during pretrial interrogation.
In July, the U.S. Treasury froze the U.S. assets of six of al-Hassan's sons, including those of Sabawi.