Posted on 04/04/2006 5:16:35 AM PDT by Mr. Silverback
BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Iraq tribunal announced new criminal charges against Saddam Hussein and six others Tuesday, accusing them of genocide and crimes against humanity stemming from a 1980s crackdown against Kurds that included the gassing of thousands of civilians.
The move, tantamount to an indictment under the Iraqi legal system, paves the way for a second trial of the ousted ruler. Saddam already is being tried in the killings of more than 140 Shiites in a town north of Baghdad.
Under Iraqi law, the second trial could begin in at least 45 days.
Investigative judge Raid Juhi said the charges against Saddam and the others had been filed with another judge, who will review the evidence and order a trial date.
The new case involves Saddam's role in Operation Anfal, a three-phase move against Kurds in northern Iraq in the late 1980s. Anfal included the March 16 gas attack on the village of Halabja in which 5,000 people, including women and children, died.
Human rights groups consider the Halabja attack one of the gravest atrocities allegedly committed by Saddam's regime.
"These people were subjected to forced displacement and illegal detentions," Juhi said. "They were placed in different detention centers. The villages were destroyed and burned. Homes and houses of worshippers and buildings of civilians were leveled without reason or a military requirement."
Others accused in the Anfal case include Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan Majid, or "Chemical Ali"; former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad; former intelligence chief Saber Abdul Aziz al-Douri; former Republican Guard commander Hussein al-Tirkiti; former Nineveh provincial Gov. Taher Tafwiq al-Ani; and former top military commander Farhan Mutlaq al-Jubouri.
Saddam and seven others have been on trial since Oct. 19 for the deaths of Shiite Muslims following a 1982 assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail. Iraqi authorities chose to try Saddam separately for various alleged crimes rather than lump all the cases together.
The Dujail trial was the first of what Iraqi authorities say could be up to a dozen proceedings. Saddam could face death by hanging if convicted in the Dujail case.
It is unclear whether the sentence would be carried out while other trials were in progress.
In December, a Dutch court sentenced chemicals merchant Frans van Anraat to 15 years in prison for selling Saddam's regime the chemicals used in the gas attacks. The ruling, the first ever dealing with atrocities under Saddam, concluded that the attacks constituted genocide.
The court had no jurisdiction to try Saddam, but prosecutors named Saddam and "Chemical Ali" as co-conspirators. The Iraqi tribunal has access to several weeks of testimony and evidence presented in that trial.
One document was a government decree said to have been signed by Saddam on June 20, 1987, ordering "special artillery bombs to kill as many people as possible" in the Kurdish area. Special artillery, Dutch prosecutors said, meant chemical weapons.
"Chemical Ali" was heard in an April 21, 1988, audio clip ordering that people caught in Kurdish areas "have to be destroyed ... must have their heads shot off." In another radio fragment, he said: "I will attack them with chemical weapons and kill them all."
Yeah, but at least he didn't put panties on their heads!
At this rate, he'll die of old age while being tried for his crimes.
Just like we need to be reminded of 9/11, we need to be reminded of other evils as well.
I thought if he was convicted of the Dujail crimes, he had to be put to death within 30 days, per the law? Doesn't give them much time for the Hallabjah trial.
The Democrats will probably rush to his defense soon.
Great post.
I'm unsure about the 30 days thing.
A firing squad would be so much more efficient. Or a rope.
does anyone know how long the Saddam trial is expected to take?
If they would just turn him over to the Kurds, it would be about 30 seconds.
FOREVER At least it seems that way already
This has to be wrong.
Bill Clintoon, Al Goron, John moi Kerri, the MSM and Howard Dean have told us for years that Saddamn had no weapons of mass destruction.
And there are no Americans within 100 miles of Baghdad. They are committing suicide at the gates and their stomachs are roasting in Hell.
Yep, I think your right. He will probably boycott his trial again and again and again.
Ah yes, Baghdad Roberta!
The Massgraves Victims of Saddam's Regime
http://www.massgraves.info/
Halapja: A Crime Against Humanity
http://www.massgraves.info/halapja/
My love, I'm so sorry I could do nothing to save you.
I will miss you desperately until the moment I die.
Your touch, your smile, the sound of your laughter.
My heart is crushed. I have no tears left to cry.
But go home to God now. Go now, and rest.
Don't be afraid to leave us alone down here.
Help has arrived. The killer has been captured.
We can live our lives now with nothing to fear.
Mark Rickerby - Writer
California - USA
October 2004
Ramsey Clark just jumped on an SR-71 Blackbird..
Gassing Kurds? The MSM Saddam apologists will ignore or try to trivialize this this since the Kurds are actually on our side in freeing Iraq from that mass murderer. The sooner they hang that evil doer the better.
.... SLOW LOADING, Worth Watching (And Bookmarking), but Please be patient.
Memorial to the 5,000+ Kurds killed by Saddam Hussein in Halabja
[Monument to the Kurds killed in Halabja] Monument to the Kurds killed in Halabja
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