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THE TRIAL OF SADDAM HUSSEIN Just two days after the handover of Iraq
(June 28, 2004), the U.S. also
handed over legal custody of Saddam Hussein and eleven other high-ranking members of
his regime. Hussein was captured by U.S. troops on December 13, 2003. Before the
transfer of power, Hussein was considered a prisoner of war; he has since lost
that status and is now a criminal defendant subject to the Iraqi criminal code.
Although Hussein is legally in Iraqi custody, he may not stand trial for months.
An immediate trial may not be possible because there are over 30 tons of paper
evidence for prosecutors to sift through and the pool of potential
witnesses could very well include the majority of Iraq's population.
Furthermore, his trial may not begin until after the trials of other high-ranking officials have been
completed so that emerging information from those trials can be used in
Hussein’s case.
Hussein will face at least seven preliminary charges, including genocide, crimes
against humanity, and war crimes. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
While Iraqi officials insist that the trial will be fair and that Hussein will
be afforded the trial rights that he consistently denied his own people, many in
the international community remain skeptical as to whether such a trial
without any international assistance can truly be fair. They
cite concerns over the current state of the Iraqi judicial system, the shortage
of experienced legal professionals who could be impartial in the trial of
Hussein, and whether U.S. involvement will taint the credibility of the trial's
outcome in the eyes of Iraqis.
Last updated
October 26, 2005
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