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| Iraq |
| Charges Dropped on Saddam |
| 2007-01-08 |
| BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's trial for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s resumed Monday with the late dictator's seat empty, nine days after he went to the gallows. The court's first order of business was to drop all charges against Saddam. Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. Shortly after the court reconvened Monday, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another. Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa said the court decided to stop all legal action against the former president, since "the death of defendant Saddam was confirmed." Saddam was sentenced to death for the killing of 148 Shiites and hanged on Dec. 30 in a chaotic execution that has drawn global criticism for the Shiite-dominated government. All seven defendants in the Anfal case, including Saddam, had pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Saddam and one other man also pleaded innocent to the additional charge of genocide. The six remaining defendants — all senior members of Saddam's ousted regime — include his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his alleged use of chemical weapons against Iraqi Kurds. The other defendants are former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim al-Tai, who was the commander of Task Force Anfal and head of the Iraqi army 1st Corps; Sabir al-Douri, Saddam's military intelligence chief; Taher Tawfiq al-Ani, former governor of Mosul and head of the Northern Affairs Committee; Hussein Rashid Mohammed, former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi Armed Forces and Farhan Mutlaq Saleh, former head of military intelligence's eastern regional office. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #7 Halabja was so much worse than Dujail and I personally am sorry we couldn't have seen that trial to completion. I draw your attention to paragraph two of the article posted: Six co-defendants still face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in a military campaign code-named Operation Anfal during the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war. Shortly after the court reconvened Monday, a bailiff called out the names of the accused and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another. Only the charges against Saddam have been dropped, the others still face trial and justice. The revelations you desire will happen. |
| Posted by: Chuck Darwin 2007-01-08 20:25 |
| #6 Looks like they'll have to find someone else to hang then .... |
| Posted by: gorb 2007-01-08 17:13 |
| #5 And now that the charges are dropped, we can't dig him up and hang him again. I personally would not have a problem with that. If it were up to me, we would have had an ass-kicking before the hanging. Everyone in Iraq lines up and gives Saddam one good kick. You can have another turn, but you have to go to the end of the line. When the line is gone, it's hanging time! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-01-08 13:26 |
| #4 This was just another way to fark the Kurds. The execution was rushed, IMO, because the Shia ddin't want too much spotlight and symapthy for the Kurds. Halabja was so much worse than Dujail and I personally am sorry we couldn't have seen that trial to completion. Not to mention the evidence and sourcing was so much better for trial two, Sammy's hanging would've been more meaningful and harder to criticize, not that that would stop the anklebiters. And now that the charges are dropped, we can't dig him up and hang him again. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2007-01-08 11:37 |
| #3 It wasn't the drop that hurt but rather the stop. |
| Posted by: Capsu 78 2007-01-08 10:47 |
| #2 Yes, but to be frank, he didn't dropped very far (there was some kind of safety-string to prevent him from harm by breaking his fall). |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2007-01-08 10:32 |
| #1 I thought it was Saddam who was dropped. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-01-08 10:02 |