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'I Want A Firing Squad'

Saddam Hussein said he would rather be shot rather than hanged following his trial for crimes against humanity.

He made the comments during the hearing in July, after claiming he had been forced to attend court against his will.

Saddam: Defiant
Saddam: Defiant

The former Iraqi dictator urged the judge to bear in mind he was a "military man and in this case the verdict should be death by shooting not by hanging."

Saddam, who had been taken to hospital after going on hunger strike, added: "It was not my choice to come to court.

"I wrote you a petition clarifying that I don't want to come to court, but they brought me against my will."

Saddam's previous appearance in court was on June 19 when the prosecution demanded the death penalty for him and two others.

He had been rushed to hospital on the 17th day of his hunger strike - launched as a protest against the trial and to demand better security for his lawyers.

Three members of the defence team were killed during the trial, which began last October.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants had all denied killing 148 Shi'ite men and teenagers after an attempt on the president's life in the town of Dujail in 1982.

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