Saddam Hussein’s former right-hand man Tariq Aziz has been condemned to death by Iraq’s high tribunal.

Once the international face of the late dictator’s regime, Aziz was sentenced for persecuting Islamic parties, according to the court’s media office.

He served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister, rising to prominence at the time of Saddam’s invasion of Kuwait and the 1991 Gulf War.

Aziz surrendered to US forces during their invasion of Iraq in 2003 and was handed over to Iraqi prison authorities this year.

In 2009, he was given lengthy jail terms in separate cases.

The court said two other former senior Iraqi officials in today’s case were also sentenced to death.

Far from the world stage, Aziz, a Christian, has suffered ill health, sparking calls for his release from custody on humanitarian grounds.