Iraq: Saddam Hussein and Former Officials Tried for Crimes

Since October 19, 2005, Saddam Hussein and seven other former Iraqi officials have been on trial for crimes that took place in the town of al-Dujail in 1982. Government security forces allegedly detained and tortured hundreds of individuals from al-Dujail in retaliation for an assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein as his motorcade passed through the town, sixty kilometers north of Baghdad. One hundred and forty-eight individuals were allegedly executed as part of the attack on al-Dujail. The defendants are charged with crimes against humanity in relation to these events and are being tried in Baghdad before the Iraqi High Tribunal (“the Tribunal”).