 Two days after being sentenced to hang for crimes against humanity, the ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was back in court yesterday to face separate charges of genocide against Kurds in the 1980s. Saddam sat with the other six defendants charged in the Operation Anfal crackdown against Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s.
| The prosecution has one month to present its case to the appellate court, and there is a 30-day time limit after the review is completed before the sentence is carried out. |
While an appellate court's review means no execution is likely before next year, Saddam could face the hangman within four or five months, the lead prosecutor in his case said. Jaafar al-Moussawi, who duelled with Saddam during 11 months of courtroom confrontations, estimated the Iraqi High Tribunal's nine-judge appellate court would complete its review in about two months. The prosecution has one month to present its case to the appellate court, and there is a 30-day time limit after the review is completed before the sentence is carried out. Unless the court builds a new execution chamber, Saddam will probably be put to death in the fortress-like Abu Ghraib prison, site of the country's only gallows. |