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Saddam back in court for genocide trial
7.11.2006
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BAGHDAD, November
7, -- Two days after being sentenced to hang for
crimes against humanity, ousted Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein was back in court on Tuesday to face
genocide charges against ethnic Kurds in the late
1980s in a separate trial.
The spokesperson of Kurdistan Regional government in
(northern Iraq), Khaled Salih, says it is important
that the Anfal case is heard before the death
sentence already pronounced on Saddam Hussein is
carried out. Mr Salih says that way, the injustices
done to the Kurds will be recorded.
Some legal experts have argued that the so-called
Anfal killings trial should be allowed to reach a
verdict before Saddam is executed. However, Iraqi
officials say the hanging would not be delayed
artificially to allow this to take place. |
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP |
An appellate court will review Saddam's death
sentence, meaning no execution is likely before next
year.
Saddam, who on Sunday met his death sentence with
defiant cries of "Allahu Akbar!" (God is Greatest)
and "Long live Iraq!" was subdued on Tuesday when he
appeared in court.
Dressed in a black suit and tieless shirt, he filed
into the heavily fortified courtroom and took his
seat quietly after he was called in by the judge.
Saddam and six co-defendants face charges of
genocide for their roles in the 1988 Anfal (Spoils
of War) military campaign against ethnic Kurds.
Prosecutors say up to 180,000 Kurds were killed,
many of them by gas.
Saddam was found guilty of crimes against humanity
for ordering hundreds of Shi'ites killed or tortured
in the town of Dujail following an assassination
attempt on his life in 1982.
Mixed response to verdict
The death sentence met with mixed reactions in Iraq
and around the world.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki has hailed the
sentence as a "verdict on a whole dark era".
President Bush called the verdict a "milestone" in
the efforts of the Iraqi people "to replace the rule
of a tyrant with the rule of law".
A White House spokesman denied suggestions that the
timing of the verdict had been orchestrated to
coincide with crucial mid-term elections as
"preposterous".
Death sentence opposed
Several European leaders welcomed the guilty
verdict, but there has also been concern over the
use of the death sentence. UK Prime Minister Tony
Blair said Britain opposed the death penalty,
"whether it's Saddam or anybody else".
Finland, which currently holds the presidency of the
EU and is opposed to the death penalty, called on
Iraq to refrain from carrying out the execution.
The verdict was welcomed in Kuwait, which was
invaded by the former Iraqi president in 1990, and
Iran, which fought a bitter war with Iraq in the
1980s.
The Palestinian ruling party, Hamas, condemned the
sentence as politically motivated, remembering the
support Saddam Hussein had given the Palestinian
people.
Reuters | Agencies
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