Saddam's nephew sentenced to life in prison

A nephew of Saddam Hussein was sentence to life in prison Monday for funding Iraq's violent insurgency and bomb-making, the Iraqi government announced, marking the first verdict against a family member of the former Iraqi leader.

Ayman Sabawi, the son of Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, a half brother of Saddam, 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, Xinhua says.

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