Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz, the public face of Saddam Hussein's regime, will face trial next week over the execution of dozens of merchants in 1992, a prosecutor said yesterday.

Jaffar al-Moussawi, a prosecutor with the Iraqi High Tribunal, said Aziz and several other former members of Saddam's regime would appear in court on Tuesday over the case.

Aziz, who also served as foreign minister under Saddam, has appeared as a witness in earlier trials of ex-regime members, but this will be the first time he has faced charges himself.