Brazil pulls Saddam phone cards

Saddam Hussein is undergoing questioning

A telephone company in Brazil has been forced to stop selling a phone card that depicts ex-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein under arrest.

Prosecutors in Sao Paulo demanded Telefonica remove the cards from sale or face charges of inciting violence and racial intolerance.

The card also failed to present a balanced view of Saddam Hussein's situation, they added.

The card was issued in June as part of a series illustrating "World History".

In the picture a scruffy and bedraggled Saddam Hussein is shown with two coalition soldiers, one of whom is pointing a gun at him.

"Telefonica regrets the trouble caused to the public and our clients by this phone card carrying a historic picture from the war in Iraq," the company said in a statement.

The ousted Iraqi leader is undergoing questioning over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, and is expected to stand trial in Iraq as early as September.