Judge throws Saddam out of court
By Nicholas Brown,WNS Iraq Bureau Chief
BAGHDAD - The newly-appointed chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of genocide threw the former dictator out of the court, the second time in as many days. Waving a yellow paper, Saddam had said to the judge, "I have a request here that I don't want to be in this cage any more" he said referring to the court. The judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah responded saying "I am the presiding juge, I decide about your presence here, get him out," after which the baliffs took Saddam out of the courtroom. The trial had resumed without Saddam's defence team which is boycotting the proceedings in protest at what it branded government pressure on the court.
Saddam and six of his former colleagues face charges including genocide for spearheading a military campaign against the Kurds in 1987-1988 that prosecutors say left 182,000 people dead. They face the death penalty if found guilty. Saddam and seven former cohorts are also awaiting a verdict due in October in a trial over the killing of 148 Shiite villagers after an attempt on the ousted Iraqi leader's life in 1982.
posted by wnsworld @ 9:34 AM
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