/ Source: msnbc.com staff and news service reports
Trial Details
- The full trial of Saddam Hussein is not expected to start until 2005.
- The amount of evidence will likely be huge -- as much as 30 tons of documents.
- The security adviser says the trial will be aired live on TV and radio.
- No pictures will be allowed of any of the Iraqi participants -- except for the defendants --to protect them from attack.
- According to President Ghazi al-Yawer, Iraq's new government has decided to reinstate the death penalty, suspended during the U.S. occupation.
Saddam's Legal Team
- Saddam's wife, Sajidah, has appointed a team of 20 non-Iraqi lawyers.
- Iraqi law forbids most foreign lawyers from defending Iraqis without special permission.
- Currently, only Iraqis, Palestinians and Syrians automatically are allowed to defend Iraqis.
Legal Status
- Saddam Hussein is in the legal custody of the interim government of Iraq. He is in the physical custody of US military.
- Saddam is no longer a prisoner of war, no longer covered under the Geneva Conventions. Instead, his treatment must follow current Iraqi law.
Saddam
- Saddam Hussein refused to sign a list of charges against him.
- Saddam identified himself by saying, "I am Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq."
- Saddam defended the invasion of Kuwait, saying Kuwaitis are dogs. The Iraqi judge reprimanded him for using such language in court.
- Saddam was brought to the trial in an armored vehicle. He was handcuffed and had a chain around his waist when he entered the courtroom.
- Saddam Hussein was born April 28, 1937. He is 67 years old.
- He became president of Iraq in 1979.
Various sources, including Associated Press.
