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Iraq

Sammy writes his will

2006-12-29

Saddam Hussein's half brothers visited him in his jail cell and he gave them his will and personal belongings, Iraqi officials said Friday, indicating his execution may be approaching. But they said he had yet to be transferred to Iraqi custody. The former dictator president is at an American military prison where he is expected to remain until the day of his execution, when he is to be transferred to Iraqi authorities. On Thursday, two half brothers visited Saddam in his cell, a member of the former dictator's defense team, Badee Izzat Aref, told The Associated Press by telephone from the United Arab Emirates. He said the former dictator handed them his personal belongings. A senior commander at the Iraqi defense ministry also confirmed the meeting and said Saddam gave his will to one of his half brothers. Saddam's lawyers later issued a statement saying the Americans gave permission to one of them to pick up his belongings. The statement did not name the recipient or specify when. However, Raed Juhi, spokesman for the High Tribunal court that convicted Saddam, denied that the former leader's relatives visited him.

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Iraq

Saddam Hussein Trial Delayed Until Sunday

2006-01-25

The court trying Saddam Hussein abruptly called off Tuesday's session, asserting that some witnesses and complainants were away on pilgrimage to Mecca and did not show up. Tribunal spokesman Raed Juhi announced the delay only after a four-hour wait for Tuesday's scheduled session to start. The court is set to reconvene Sunday, Juhi said. He refused to say who the missing witnesses and complainants were, or why the court waited past midday to delay the hearing. The trial has been plagued by months of delays and postponements.

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Iraq

Raid frees Saddam judge 'plotter'

2005-12-07

Gunmen have burst into a hospital in Iraq to free a detainee alleged to have plotted to kill the investigating judge in the case against Saddam Hussein. The Kirkuk police chief said the attack happened shortly after 0500 local time (0200 GMT) when it was still dark. A large group of gunmen in four cars drove up to the hospital and opened fire at police and hospital guards. Then they forced their way into the wards, freed Yusif Khidr and took him away. Three guards died in the clash. Mr Khidr had been wounded during the arrest of a gang of insurgents who the police said were plotting to kill Raed Juhi - the chief investigating judge who prepared the current case against Saddam Hussein and seven of his former associates. They are alleged to have been carrying orders from Saddam's former right-hand man, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, who is still on the run and believed to be directing some of the insurgency.

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Iraq

8 Sunnis Arrested in Assassination Plot

2005-11-28

Iraqi police have arrested eight Sunni Arabs in the northern city of Kirkuk for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge who prepared the case against Saddam Hussein, a senior police commander said Sunday. The men were carrying a document from former top Saddam deputy Izzat al-Douri ordering them to kill Raed Juhi, said Col. Anwar Qadir, a police commander in Kirkuk, where the men were arrested on Saturday. Al-Douri is the highest ranking member of the Saddam regime still at large and is believed to be at least the symbolic leader of Saddam loyalists still fighting U.S. forces and the new Iraqi government. Saddam's trial is set to resume on Monday after a five-week break. The first prosecution witnesses are expected to testify before the five-judge panel, offering accounts of the deaths of more than 140 Shiite villagers following an assassination attempt against Saddam in the town of Dujail in 1982. If convicted Saddam and his seven co-defendants could be sentenced to death by hanging.

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Iraq-Jordan

Saddam Trial Judge Says Probe Almost Complete

2005-07-14

The Iraqi judge in charge of questioning Saddam Hussein and his former regime henchmen said yesterday more than 80 percent of the investigation into their cases was complete amid increasing calls to speed up the trials. "The investigation is quite advanced with more than 80 percent completed (but) deciding the date of the trials is not the specialty of the investigative judges," Raed Juhi, a senior judge on the Iraqi Special Tribunal told AFP. The decision will be made by a five-person trial court panel, sources close to the tribunal recently said. Juhi is the judge who faced Saddam at a preliminary hearing in July 2004 and who appeared questioning the ousted leader in video footage released by the tribunal in June.

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