Saddam Hussein had asked the court in a previous hearing for an execution by a firing squad and not hanging. He argued that as a soldier he should die in a military manner through gun shot and not hanging.

The former Iraqi president is facing charges of genocide and crimes against humanity and is being tried by Iraqis under Iraqi criminal law, not by international judges under international law.

Defiant Saddam refused to enter a plea on genocide charges and dismissed the court as illegitimate as his second trial began Monday, August 21. The trial is second for Saddam in connection with alleged atrocities during his rule. This leg of his trial prosecutors said would expose the widescale killings of tens of thousands of Kurds nearly two decades ago. The first trial was the killings of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail in the 1980s after an assassination attempt on Saddam.

Saddam Hussein's genocide trial(second trial) is adjourned until September 11 after request from defence lawyers. Verdict in the first trial is expected in mid October.

In another development, a coalition of 300 Iraqi tribal leaders, mostly Sunni Arabs, on Saturday demanded the release of Saddam so he could reclaim the presidency. They also called for armed resistance against US-led coalition forces and plan rallies in Sunni cities to insist on the unconditional release of Saddam and co-defendants.

Photo Above: Saddam Hussein and his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti get tough, berate the court at a trial.