Charges Against Saddam Hussein Dropped

The Iraqi High Tribunal has dropped all charges against Saddam Hussein in the Anfal trial, according to the BBC.

The decision of the Iraqi High Tribunal came as the Anfal trial of six of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants resumed today after a 21-day recess. The court's first actions were to drop all charges against Saddam Hussein.

Saddam's co-defendants in the Anfal trial are charged with crimes against humanity and the death of 100,000 Kurds in the 1980s and include Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's cousin who is also known as "Chemical Ali."

Saddam Hussein was also charged with the mass killings but was executed before the end of the 2006 while the Anfal trial was in recess.

The former Iraqi president was executed by hanging on December 30^th, 2006, after a court decision in the Dujail trial where he was convicted of killing 148 Shia Muslims in Dujail, the illegal arrest of 399 people, torturing women and children and the destruction of farmland.

Two of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants in the Dujail trial were also convicted of the killings of 148 Shia Muslim men and boys and sentenced to death by hanging. Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam Hussein's half-brother and intelligence chief, and Awad al-Bandar, a former chief judge, are scheduled to be executed this week.

The resumption of the Dujail trial has once again cast a spotlight on the Iraqi judicial system which has been the focus of international criticism for the handling Saddam Hussein's execution.

The grisly nature of Saddam Hussein's execution was exposed through an unofficial video and audio recording which was accessible to the public on the internet. The illicit images and sounds revealed that the former leader was taunted at the gallows.

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown described events at the execution "as deplorable and completely unacceptable." In Italy, Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni lit up the Colosseum in protest of the execution and in keeping with the country's push for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty.

The United Nations has called for a stay of execution for both Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar but the Iraqi government does not intend to postpone the procedure. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said "that while the government respected the UN's view, it also had to respect the victims of Saddam Hussein and his henchmen."

The former Iraqi president had last appeared at the Anfal trial on December 5, 2006, despite writing a statement that he intended to boycott the proceedings. The appearance came while Saddam was appealing the death sentence from the Dujail trial.

Many Kurds have expressed disappointment that Saddam Hussein's execution precluded the completion of the Anfal trial and that the former President did not face the charges for his role in the Anfal campaign. The December 30 execution of Saddam Hussein has been criticized as sectarian by several Sunni Arab countries.

Sources:

"Iraqi court drops Saddam's charges" BBC, January 8,2007

"Timeline: Saddam Hussein Anfal trial" BBC, January 8, 2007

"Timeline: Saddam Hussein Dujail trial" BBC, January 8, 2007

"Saddam aides to die this week" BBC, January 7, 2007

"Saddam makes surprise showing" BBC, December 6, 2006

"Colosseum lit over death penalty" BBC January 6, 2007