The trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's trial resumed on Tuesday in Baghdad after a six-day break.
The resumption of the trial follows the publication of an open letter to the Iraqi people in which Saddam said fighters would soon drive US forces from Iraq. The former leader also called on Iraqis to cease sectarian killings in his letter.
Despite Saddam's call to end sectarian strife and focus on driving the US from Iraq instead, the brother of the chief prosecutor Munqith Al Faroon was shot to death in his home on Monday, according to the AP.
Faroon told reporters that it was unclear whether the killing was related to his involvement in Saddam's trial. Gunman, he said, had entered their house and then killed his brother.
The trial has so far been marred by similar deaths; the brother-in-law of the chief judge in the trial, Mohammed al-Ureybi, had also been killed in an attack ten days after he was named to replace the outgoing judge said Reuters.
Three defense lawyers were also killed in an earlier trial against Saddam for the killing of Shi'ite villagers.
Saddam currently faces charges of genocide for crimes against Iraq's Kurdish population in the 1980s. If charged, the ex-leader could face the death penalty. Many have claimed, however, that it is not possible to conduct a fair trial against the former leader under current circumstances.
