February 11, 2009 6:07 PM
- Text
Saddam Sneers As 2nd Trial Begins
(AP)
Saddam Hussein opened his second trial with a show of defiance Monday, refusing to enter a plea on charges of genocide and war crimes connected to his scorched-earth offensive against Kurds nearly two decades ago.
The trial opens a new legal chapter for the ousted Iraqi leader, who once again faces a possible death penalty for the killings of tens of thousands of Kurds during the Iraqi army's "Operation Anfal" — Arabic for "spoils of war."
The 1987-88 crackdown was aimed at crushing independence-minded Kurdish militias and clearing all Kurds from the northern region along the border with Iran. Saddam accused the Kurds of helping Iran in its war with Iraq.
Survivors say many villages were razed and countless young men disappeared.
"It's time for humanity to know ... the magnitude and scale of the crimes committed against the people of Kurdistan," the lead prosecutor, Munqith al-Faroon, said in his opening statement.
"Entire villages were razed to the ground, as if killing the people wasn't enough," he said, showing the court photos of the bodies of dead mothers and children. "Wives waited for their husbands, families waited for their children to return — but to no avail."
The prosecution also accuses the army of using prohibited mustard gas and nerve agents in the campaign, and a map of northern Iraq in the courtroom had red stickers on locations where the weapons were allegedly used. The trial does not deal with the most notorious gassing — the March 1988 attack on Halabja that killed an estimated 5,000 Kurds. That incident will be part of a separate investigation by the Iraqi High Tribunal.
The proceedings are taking place in the same courtroom where Saddam spent months jousting with the judges in his turbulent first trial. That case was over the killings of more than 148 Shiite Muslims from the town of Dujail in a crackdown launched after a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam.
Verdicts for Saddam and seven co-defendants are expected in that case on Oct. 16. The former president faces a possible execution by hanging if convicted, though he has the right to appeal, a process that could take months.
If a death sentence is upheld on appeal while the Anfal case is still being tried, Iraqi law allows for the sentence to be carried out against Saddam, while the case would continue against the other defendants. Tribunal officials, however, have been unclear whether the second trial would be completed.
Saddam, wearing a black suit and white shirt, was the first defendant called into the court as the trial's first session began Monday morning. When Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri asked Saddam to identify himself for the record, Saddam retorted: "You know me."
Al-Amiri said it was the law that defendants identify themselves. "Do you respect this law?" he asked Saddam.
"This is the law of the occupation," Saddam replied, then identified himself as "the president of the republic and commander in chief of the armed forces."
The judge told Saddam, "This trial is on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Are you innocent or guilty."
Saddam replied, "That would require volumes of books." Al-Amiri ordered a plea of innocent entered.
The Dujail trial was plagued by frequent outbursts by Saddam and his co-defendants, who repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of the tribunal, saying it was created by the Americans, whose forces swept Saddam's regime out of power in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Saddam appeared ready to show the same defiance in his new trial, as did his top co-defendant, Ali Hassan al-Majid, who allegedly led Operation Anfal and became known as "Chemical Ali" for the use of poison gas.
The trial opens a new legal chapter for the ousted Iraqi leader, who once again faces a possible death penalty for the killings of tens of thousands of Kurds during the Iraqi army's "Operation Anfal" — Arabic for "spoils of war."
The 1987-88 crackdown was aimed at crushing independence-minded Kurdish militias and clearing all Kurds from the northern region along the border with Iran. Saddam accused the Kurds of helping Iran in its war with Iraq.
Survivors say many villages were razed and countless young men disappeared.
"It's time for humanity to know ... the magnitude and scale of the crimes committed against the people of Kurdistan," the lead prosecutor, Munqith al-Faroon, said in his opening statement.
"Entire villages were razed to the ground, as if killing the people wasn't enough," he said, showing the court photos of the bodies of dead mothers and children. "Wives waited for their husbands, families waited for their children to return — but to no avail."
The prosecution also accuses the army of using prohibited mustard gas and nerve agents in the campaign, and a map of northern Iraq in the courtroom had red stickers on locations where the weapons were allegedly used. The trial does not deal with the most notorious gassing — the March 1988 attack on Halabja that killed an estimated 5,000 Kurds. That incident will be part of a separate investigation by the Iraqi High Tribunal.
The proceedings are taking place in the same courtroom where Saddam spent months jousting with the judges in his turbulent first trial. That case was over the killings of more than 148 Shiite Muslims from the town of Dujail in a crackdown launched after a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam.
Verdicts for Saddam and seven co-defendants are expected in that case on Oct. 16. The former president faces a possible execution by hanging if convicted, though he has the right to appeal, a process that could take months.
If a death sentence is upheld on appeal while the Anfal case is still being tried, Iraqi law allows for the sentence to be carried out against Saddam, while the case would continue against the other defendants. Tribunal officials, however, have been unclear whether the second trial would be completed.
Saddam, wearing a black suit and white shirt, was the first defendant called into the court as the trial's first session began Monday morning. When Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri asked Saddam to identify himself for the record, Saddam retorted: "You know me."
Al-Amiri said it was the law that defendants identify themselves. "Do you respect this law?" he asked Saddam.
"This is the law of the occupation," Saddam replied, then identified himself as "the president of the republic and commander in chief of the armed forces."
The judge told Saddam, "This trial is on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Are you innocent or guilty."
Saddam replied, "That would require volumes of books." Al-Amiri ordered a plea of innocent entered.
The Dujail trial was plagued by frequent outbursts by Saddam and his co-defendants, who repeatedly challenged the legitimacy of the tribunal, saying it was created by the Americans, whose forces swept Saddam's regime out of power in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Saddam appeared ready to show the same defiance in his new trial, as did his top co-defendant, Ali Hassan al-Majid, who allegedly led Operation Anfal and became known as "Chemical Ali" for the use of poison gas.
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