Uday's Maiden?

YURI KOZYREV FOR TIME

Did Saddam's son use this bizarre device for torture?

Saddam Hussein's psychotic firstborn, Uday, enjoyed a long, sadistic reign as Iraq's sports czar. As chief of Iraq's National Olympic Committee and its soccer organization, he ordered the torture of athletes who performed below expectations. The national soccer team came in for particularly savage treatment: players had their feet scalded and toenails ripped off for failing to win matches. But on visits to Iraq, investigators from international sporting bodies, notably soccer's FIFA , never found people to testify to such charges — no player dared, for fear of getting far worse.

On Saturday, TIME found what may be the...

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