I wonder if he'll be allowed to call various international government figures as a part of his defence.
Most notably from former allies like Britain, the USA, France and Germany, plus a liberal sprinkling of UN dudes.
And so, a murdering bastard, and ally, goes on trial.
---------------------------------
Saddam's 'special tribunal'
By Paul Welsh
BBC world affairs correspondent
The special tribunal has been set up to try those accused of atrocities and corruption in the years of Saddam Hussein's rule. It will hear cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Saddam Hussein's trial could be a long, drawn out affair
There will also be trials for wasting national resources, squandering the country's assets or abusing a position of power.
Any Iraqi can be brought before the court, as can anyone who lived in Iraq at the time.
Saddam Hussein will be the star prisoner.
Another 11 men are among the first to be charged by the court. They include two of the ex-president's half-brothers and one of his cousins.
Among them is the man known as "Chemical Ali", who is accused of ordering the gas attack which left thousands of Iraqi Kurds dead.
Using poison gas is one of the offences specifically set out in the statute which sets up the special court.
Others offences include attacking people or places which were not involved in hostilities, forcibly moving whole sections of a population and recruiting children under 15 to fight.
The section on moving people against their will is likely to be used to bring charges against those who terrorised the Iraq's Marsh Arabs.
'No juries'
For now the accused will be guarded by the foreign troops, even though the prisoners are technically in the custody of the court.
POSSIBLE CHARGES
Invasion of Kuwait
Suppression of Kurd and Shia uprisings
Iran-Iraq War
Gas attack on Kurds
Likely charges for Saddam
Q&A: Putting Saddam on trial
Have Your Say: Fair trial?
When the Iraqi forces are suitably trained and equipped they will take over the task.
Charges will be drawn up by a team of up to 20 investigating judges.
Different judges, in teams of five, will carry out the trials. Nine more will form a court of appeal.
There will be no juries for the trials, which will be carried out in Arabic. Verdicts will be reached by a vote of the five judges involved and only a majority is needed.
The decision on whether the courts will be able to hand down death sentences has not been made.
Concerns
The United Nations, the UK and other countries are urging the new Iraqi government to stick to life sentences instead.
TOP DETAINEES
Tariq Aziz - Deputy PM
Taha Yassin Ramadan - Vice-President
Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tal - Defence Minister
Ali Hasan al-Majid - "Chemical Ali"
Watban Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti - Saddam Hussein's half-brother - intelligence minister
Top Iraqi detainees: Full list
The accused have the right to remain silent, to be assumed guilty until innocent and to have a lawyer, paid for by the court if necessary. The entire operation is being funded by the new Iraqi government.
Even so, there is some concern among human rights groups, because the courts do not seem to be bound to prove guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.
The first cases are unlikely to begin properly before the end of the year.
If the trial of Slobodan Milosevic at the Yugoslav International War Crimes Tribunal is any guide, the trial of Saddam Hussein could be a long, drawn out affair.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3854145.stm
Most notably from former allies like Britain, the USA, France and Germany, plus a liberal sprinkling of UN dudes.
And so, a murdering bastard, and ally, goes on trial.
---------------------------------
Saddam's 'special tribunal'
By Paul Welsh
BBC world affairs correspondent
The special tribunal has been set up to try those accused of atrocities and corruption in the years of Saddam Hussein's rule. It will hear cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Saddam Hussein's trial could be a long, drawn out affair
There will also be trials for wasting national resources, squandering the country's assets or abusing a position of power.
Any Iraqi can be brought before the court, as can anyone who lived in Iraq at the time.
Saddam Hussein will be the star prisoner.
Another 11 men are among the first to be charged by the court. They include two of the ex-president's half-brothers and one of his cousins.
Among them is the man known as "Chemical Ali", who is accused of ordering the gas attack which left thousands of Iraqi Kurds dead.
Using poison gas is one of the offences specifically set out in the statute which sets up the special court.
Others offences include attacking people or places which were not involved in hostilities, forcibly moving whole sections of a population and recruiting children under 15 to fight.
The section on moving people against their will is likely to be used to bring charges against those who terrorised the Iraq's Marsh Arabs.
'No juries'
For now the accused will be guarded by the foreign troops, even though the prisoners are technically in the custody of the court.
POSSIBLE CHARGES
Invasion of Kuwait
Suppression of Kurd and Shia uprisings
Iran-Iraq War
Gas attack on Kurds
Likely charges for Saddam
Q&A: Putting Saddam on trial
Have Your Say: Fair trial?
When the Iraqi forces are suitably trained and equipped they will take over the task.
Charges will be drawn up by a team of up to 20 investigating judges.
Different judges, in teams of five, will carry out the trials. Nine more will form a court of appeal.
There will be no juries for the trials, which will be carried out in Arabic. Verdicts will be reached by a vote of the five judges involved and only a majority is needed.
The decision on whether the courts will be able to hand down death sentences has not been made.
Concerns
The United Nations, the UK and other countries are urging the new Iraqi government to stick to life sentences instead.
TOP DETAINEES
Tariq Aziz - Deputy PM
Taha Yassin Ramadan - Vice-President
Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tal - Defence Minister
Ali Hasan al-Majid - "Chemical Ali"
Watban Ibrahim Hassan al-Tikriti - Saddam Hussein's half-brother - intelligence minister
Top Iraqi detainees: Full list
The accused have the right to remain silent, to be assumed guilty until innocent and to have a lawyer, paid for by the court if necessary. The entire operation is being funded by the new Iraqi government.
Even so, there is some concern among human rights groups, because the courts do not seem to be bound to prove guilt beyond any reasonable doubt.
The first cases are unlikely to begin properly before the end of the year.
If the trial of Slobodan Milosevic at the Yugoslav International War Crimes Tribunal is any guide, the trial of Saddam Hussein could be a long, drawn out affair.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3854145.stm
