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Saddam Genocide trial ends witness
testimony
5.12.2006
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Baghdad - A court trying Saddam Hussein for
genocide against ethnic Kurds in 1988 agreed on
Monday to a prosecution request to stop listening to
more witnesses, a move that could speed up
proceedings in the three-month trial.
Saddam, who is awaiting an appeal against a death
sentence from a separate case for the killing of
Shi'a
villagers in the 1980s, is on trial along with six
co-defendants for the Anfal military campaign which
prosecutors say killed up to 180 000 people.
The Anfal trial opened in a Baghdad courtroom on
August 21 and has heard more than 70 witnesses in 27
hearings, most of whom have described the campaign
that ravaged Kurdistan.
As a comparison, the court in the Dujail case for
which Saddam was sentenced to hang, held 40-odd
hearings during one year of proceedings, many of
which were disrupted by Saddam's political tirades
and defence counsel boycotts.
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Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP |
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The chief judge in Anfal, who has indicated a
readiness to get down to business, ordered
proceedings to continue on Wednesday, when
prosecutors are expected to present documents
linking Saddam to the killing of Kurds, ourt
officials said.
The nine-judge Appellate Chamber, which could amend
both the verdict and the death sentence of the
Dujail case, has unlimited time to make a ruling.
The Iraqi High Tribunal rules say any execution must
follow a final decision within 30 days.
The Shi'a-led government, which has been accused of
political interference, says Saddam should be hung
this year.
But sources inside the Tribunal say an appeal ruling
could be timed for some point next year to coincide
with the end of the genocide trial so Kurds too
would feel their grievances had been heard.
Reuters
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