Iraq to step up security for Saddam lawyers

The body of the Sunni Arab defence lawyer, Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, was found dumped on a street in Baghdad Friday just hours after gunmen dragged him out of his office. He had been shot twice in the head.

Shaken by their colleague's death, the 12 other defence lawyers demanded the government provide them protection.

"We have decided to take some measures to protect the lawyers," Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal, a deputy minister in the Interior Ministry, said Saturday. "We cannot give any details regarding those measures for security reasons," Kamal told The Associated Press.Kamal and other government officials met until late Friday night to consider the attorneys' demands.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants face possible death sentences if convicted on charges of murder and torture for the 1982 massacre of 148 Shias in the town of Dujail north of Baghdad. The defendants have pleaded innocent. After the opening day of their trial on Wednesday, it was adjourned until Nov. 28.

Meanwhile, Iraqis were still waiting to know the outcome of the country's Oct. 15 constitutional referendum, and they likely will not learn the final results until next week.

Initial returns indicated the charter passed, prompting Sunni Arabs opposing it to level accusations of fraud. Electoral officials are auditing unusually high "yes" votes in some areas to ensure there were no irregularities.