New report links Saddam to Shiite killings
(AP)
Updated: 2006-04-24 19:59
The prosecution in the trial of Saddam Hussein presented
a new report by handwriting experts that linked the deposed Iraqi leader to the
massacre of Shiite villagers in the 1980s.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein appears
at his trial held under tight security in Baghdad's heavily fortified
Green Zone. The prosecution in the trial of Saddam presented a new report
by handwriting experts that linked the deposed Iraqi leader to the
massacre of Shiite villagers in the 1980s.
[AFP] |
After a 90-minute session with Saddam and his seven co-defendants all in
court, the trial was adjourned for three weeks to May 15, when the defence is
expected to start presenting witnesses.
The tribunal was presented with a new report from handwriting experts that
confirmed Saddam's signature was on documents linking him to the killings of 148
Shiites after an attempt on his life in the village of Dujail in 1982.
The latest report claimed that the signatures of all defendants were
"matching" except for that of Mizhar Abdallah Ruweid, a former Baath party
official in the Dujail area.
Saddam and his seven co-accused pleaded not guilty to
charges including murder and torture over Dujail killings when the trial opened
in October last year. If found guilty, they face the death penalty.
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