Baghdad - A 54-year-old Shi'a jurist will
preside as chief judge in the trial of Saddam
Hussein and six others for their role in the 1980s
campaign that killed an estimated 100 000 Kurds, a
court official said on Sunday.
Judge Abdullah al-Amiri will head the five-member
panel that will convene on August 21, the official
said on condition of anonymity because he is not
authorised to speak to media. Munqith Takleef al-Firuan
will serve as the chief prosecutor, he said.
A Kurdish judge, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, headed the
panel for Saddam's trial in the killing of Shi'as in
Dujail. That trial adjourned last month until
October 16, when the verdicts are expected for
Saddam and seven other defendants.
The upcoming case involves Saddam's alleged role in
Operation Anfal, Arabic for "spoils of war". The
regime launched the 1987-1988 operation to crush
independence-minded Kurdish militias and clear the
Kurdish population along the sensitive Iranian
border area. Saddam had accused Kurdish militias of
ties to Iran.
Saddam and the six others face genocide charges over
the campaign, which left thousands of Kurdish
villages razed and their inhabitants either killed
or displaced.
They could face the death penalty if convicted. |
Chief Judge Raouf Abdel Rahman, headed the panel for
Saddam's trial in the killing of Shi'as in Dujail.
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP |
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