He'll appear in court on Thursday, and will face 12 charges, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. If he's guilty, he could be executed.

11 other senior members of his old government will also appear in court.

Saddam, who was captured in Tikrit in December, will stay in a US-run jail until the Iraqis are ready to take him.

He probably won't be put on trial for a few months, as the Iraqis want to make sure he is found guilty and need time to prepare.

The US were under a lot of pressure to hand Saddam to the Iraqis after they officially stopped occupying Iraq.

Some people say that since Saddam was officially a prisoner of war, the US did not have the right to keep him after the conflict ended.