Iraq court drops charges on Saddam
Jan 09, 2007
Saddam Hussein’s trial for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s resumed on Monday with the late dictator’s seat empty, nine days after he went to the gallows.
Saddam Hussein’s trial for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s resumed on Monday with the late dictator’s seat empty, nine days after he went to the gallows.
The court’s first order of business was to drop all charges against Saddam. Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.
Shortly after the court reconvened, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another.
Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa said the court decided to stop all legal action against the former president, since “the death of defendant Saddam was confirmed.†All seven defendants in the Anfal case, including Saddam, had pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Saddam and one other man also pleaded innocent to the additional charge of genocide.
Saddam was sentenced to death for the killing of 148 Shiites and hanged on December 30 in a chaotic execution that has drawn global criticism.
Associated Press
The court’s first order of business was to drop all charges against Saddam. Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity stemming from a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.
Shortly after the court reconvened, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another.
Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa said the court decided to stop all legal action against the former president, since “the death of defendant Saddam was confirmed.†All seven defendants in the Anfal case, including Saddam, had pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Saddam and one other man also pleaded innocent to the additional charge of genocide.
Saddam was sentenced to death for the killing of 148 Shiites and hanged on December 30 in a chaotic execution that has drawn global criticism.
Associated Press