The trial of Saddam Hussein will open on the 19th of October, after the referendum on the constitution on the 15th of October.
Saddam and three co-defendants will stand trial for the 1982 massacre of Shiites in Dujail, after a failed assassination. He could receive the death penalty.
The other co-defendants are; Barazan Ibrahim, intelligence chief at the time and Saddam's half brother, former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, at the time a Baath party official in Dujail.
Saddam is expected to face a dozen trials for alleged crimes committed by his regime.
The question is, given the rising tensions in the country especially since the stampede of pilgrims, will there be a unified country left in which to try him?
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Thursday, September 01, 2005
The Blame Game
Two top Iraqi Shi'ite officials have accused Islamist militants and loyalists to Saddam Hussein of deliberately causing a stampede over a Baghdad bridge, in which at least 700 people died on Wednesday.
Ammar al Hakim, a leader in the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said:
"We hold the terrorists, Saddamists and radical extremists, responsible for what happened,".
Abdul Hadi al Daraji, spokesman for cleric Moqtada al -Sadr, said insurgents had spread rumours there was a suicide bomber in the crowd to cause panic.
No doubt these statements will aid their own political agenda.
The question is, are they true?
Iraq is teetering on the brink of civil war, rushing to conclusions before the facts are known is a very dangerous game.
Ammar al Hakim, a leader in the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, said:
"We hold the terrorists, Saddamists and radical extremists, responsible for what happened,".
Abdul Hadi al Daraji, spokesman for cleric Moqtada al -Sadr, said insurgents had spread rumours there was a suicide bomber in the crowd to cause panic.
No doubt these statements will aid their own political agenda.
The question is, are they true?
Iraq is teetering on the brink of civil war, rushing to conclusions before the facts are known is a very dangerous game.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Evidence Being Gathered
Judge Raed al-Juhi, the chief judge trying Saddam Hussein, has arrived in Sulaimaniyah in Northern Iraq's Kurdish-controlled zone.
He is there to gather criminal evidence against Saddam.
An official is quoted as saying:
"The visit by Judge Raed al-Juhi to Sulaimaniyah is to gather documents and evidence that could be useful in the trial of Saddam Hussein.
These are victims or families of victims, who were affected during the Anfal operations in which 182,000 were killed in several Kurdistan provinces, or those who were subjected to chemical warfare in Halabja in 1988,".
He said that Juhi will then go to Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region.
He is there to gather criminal evidence against Saddam.
An official is quoted as saying:
"The visit by Judge Raed al-Juhi to Sulaimaniyah is to gather documents and evidence that could be useful in the trial of Saddam Hussein.
These are victims or families of victims, who were affected during the Anfal operations in which 182,000 were killed in several Kurdistan provinces, or those who were subjected to chemical warfare in Halabja in 1988,".
He said that Juhi will then go to Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish region.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Sunnis Oppose Constitution
Thousands of Sunni demonstrators rallied on Monday in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown, to denounce Iraq's proposed constitution a day after negotiators finished it.
Sunni Arab leaders, whose ethnic group was favored under Saddam, have urged people to vote down the constitution in a nationwide referendum which is set for October 15.
The demonstrators carried Saddam's picture along with Iraqi flags.
They believe that the goal of the charter is to divide Iraq along religious and ethnic lines. The Sunni member of the panel that worked on the constitution said that it would "worsen everything in the country."
Sunni Arab leaders, whose ethnic group was favored under Saddam, have urged people to vote down the constitution in a nationwide referendum which is set for October 15.
The demonstrators carried Saddam's picture along with Iraqi flags.
They believe that the goal of the charter is to divide Iraq along religious and ethnic lines. The Sunni member of the panel that worked on the constitution said that it would "worsen everything in the country."
Monday, August 29, 2005
No Death Sentence
Iraqi President, Jalal Talabani, has said that he will not sign a death sentence for Saddam Hussein if Saddam is convicted. Talabani went on to say that he would resign, if the sentence was passed.
Talabani opposes the death penalty on principle, and said that he expects that Saddam will be convicted.
"When the death sentence is given to me, I will not sign it on principle ... and if it does pass, I will relieve myself of my post. I think a sentence will be passed on Saddam Hussein before my term ends,".
Talabani gave authority to his deputy to sign death sentences, on his behalf, for three men convicted of murder.
He may well do the same for Saddam.
Talabani opposes the death penalty on principle, and said that he expects that Saddam will be convicted.
"When the death sentence is given to me, I will not sign it on principle ... and if it does pass, I will relieve myself of my post. I think a sentence will be passed on Saddam Hussein before my term ends,".
Talabani gave authority to his deputy to sign death sentences, on his behalf, for three men convicted of murder.
He may well do the same for Saddam.
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