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Saddam Could Be Executed After First Trial
 Saddam Hussein could be executed after his first trial if he is convicted and sentenced to death for his alleged role in a 1982 Shiite massacre, even though he faces other charges, an official close to the proceedings said Thursday.
| Sounds good to me. He should be gone already, for that matter. |
The first trial, which involves the deposed Iraqi ruler's alleged role in the 1982 massacre of an estimated 150 Shiites in Dujail, north of Baghdad, is expected to begin by the fall, said the official.
| I don't think the Shiites in Dujail had quite that long, but go ahead... |
Saddam's daughter, meanwhile, has threatened that the ousted leader's defense lawyer could boycott the trial — and preliminary questioning — unless the defense gets better access to Saddam.
| Brilliant. Simply brilliant. I'm sure they'll assign him a public defender and everything'll be fine... |
The defense has complained in the past that it has only been allowed to meet Sadddam with U.S. or Iraqi military officials watching. Iraqi authorities also are building about a dozen other cases against Saddam that they intend to try separately. Those cases include the killing of rival politicians over 30 years, the 1987-88 Anfal campaign that left tens of thousands of Kurds dead or displaced and the crushing of a 1991 uprising by Shiites following the Gulf War. If Saddam is sentenced to death in the Dujail case, authorities could "theoretically" carry out the sentence without waiting for the other trials to begin, the official said.
| At which point he'd "theoretically" be dead. |
Posted by: Fred 2005-08-12 |
