[JURIST] Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, who is overseeing the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archives], on Monday agreed to a prosecution request to conclude the witness phase of the trial, and adjourned until Wednesday with just one prosecution witness left to testify. The prosecution has presented more that 70 witnesses, including several US forensic experts [JURIST report] describing mass graves believed to be the result of the 1987-88 "Anfal" campaigns [HRW backgrounder] against ethnic Kurds in Northern Iraq. Prosecutors will now begin presenting documents that allegedly link Hussein to the genocide.

In a separate trial, Hussein was convicted and sentenced to death for crimes against humanity [judgment; JURIST report] committed in the town of Dujail. Hussein's defense team formally appealed [JURIST report] that judgment Sunday. Reuters has more.