Resumption of Saddam Hussein's trial and testimonies

Trial of the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and seven of his aides is to be resumed today in the so-called "al-Dajil case" when 148 persons were killed over the assassination attempt on Saddam.

The trial is headed by a new Kurdish judge after a controversy that followed the resignation of the former judge Rizkar Muhammad Amin who submitted his resignation in the mid of January.

The selection of the new Kurdish judge Raouf Rashid Abdul Rahman, 65 year old, who is from Halabja town, where it is alleged that 5,000 persons were killed in an attack by gas carried out by government forces.

Former aids for Saddam are expected to give testimony before the special court in the same cause.

A western diplomat who is closely connected to the trial which is sponsored by the USA explained in a press conference in Baghdad two days ago that "former members in the regime will be among the witnesses," who will give their testimonies along the days of the trial's sessions which will be resumed as from today and last for three weeks.

The diplomat said that al-Dajil case, which is the first case in which Saddam is tried on, might end next May, noting that at least 6 other cases are waiting to be presented including a nearby trial over "extermination of Kurds" in Halbja north of Iraq. He added that the trial may last for several years.

The official abstained from defining the identity of the regime's witnesses or defining whether they are among the senior officials held by the American army. He said that the court will not make deals with any accused person that is going to give his testimony against Saddam Hussein. He denied a report saying to drop accusations from the Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz under the rule of Saddam Hussein.