Saddam Nephew Sentenced For Funding Insurgents

19 September 2005 -- A nephew of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was sentenced to life in prison today on charges of funding Iraq's violent insurgency and bomb-making.
Ayman Sabawi, the son of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, a half brother of Saddam Hussein, was captured by Iraqi security forces during a raid on Tikrit -- the former leader's hometown -- in May.

His father, Al-Hassan, who served as a presidential adviser before the U.S.-led invasion, was captured there two months earlier.

It is the first verdict against a member of Saddam Hussein's family.

Iraqi authorities had not announced that Sabawi's trial was under way.

(AP/AFP)