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| Iraq |
| Supreme Criminal Court commences new case |
| 2008-07-22 |
| (VOI) -- The Iraqi Supreme Criminal Court on Monday commenced the first session to try the Friday Prayers case, which is related to events that occurred in Sadr City and Kufa in 1999. 14 former Iraqi officials under Saddam Hussein are being tried in this case. The semi-official Iraqiya TV station broadcast the session that was headed by Chief Justice Mohammed Uraiby. This case is the fifth that has been tried by this court since it was formed in 2003, after the cases of al-Dujail, al-Anfal, Shaabaniya Uprising, and merchants' execution. The session embraced confirming attorneys' authorizations, and addressing charges to defendants. Among this case's defendants are Ali Hassan al-Majeed, Tareq Aziz, Abid Hmod, Sabir al-Dori, Sbaawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, Lateef Nsayef Jassim, Mohammed Zmam, Jassim Mohammed Hachim, Ugla Abid Segar, Ahmed Hameed Mahmod, and Aziz Salih al-Noman. When Justice Uraiby asked defendant al-Majeed about his name, he replied "I am an old customer," in reference to having been tried by the court in previous cases. This case goes back to 1999 on the eve of assassinating Sayyid Mohammed Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr (Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr's father) and his two sons in Kufa city in February 19, 1999, and the security tensions that Sadr City had witnessed when the two mosques of al-Muhsen and al-Hikma were attacked, and tens of prayer-goers were killed or arrested by Saddam Hussein's security forces. |
| Posted by:Fred |