Saddam will go on trial soon

2004-11-23 15:05

Dubai - Toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will go on trial on charges of crimes against humanity by the end of the year, the country's Defence Minister Hazem Shaalan said in remarks published on Tuesday.

"He will be tried before the end of the year," Shaalan told the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.

Pressed on whether Saddam's trial would open before Iraqi elections scheduled for January 30, the minister said: "Yes, before the elections."

A United States official in Baghdad said in September that Saddam, who is currently in US custody in Iraq, is unlikely to go on trial before the end of the year.

The official said 21 investigative judges were working on different issues and that more time was needed to prepare the prosecution of former Iraqi officials charged with multiple crimes.

The official also stressed that the deteriorating security situation was impeding the collection of evidence, for instance making exhumations in parts of the country almost impossible.

Saddam, who held the power of life and death over his subjects during his long years in power, faces seven charges that include war crimes and crimes against humanity.

- AFP