WORLD / Middle East

New report links Saddam to Shiite killings
(AP)
Updated: 2006-04-24 19:59

The prosecution in the trial of Saddam Hussein presented a new report by handwriting experts that linked the deposed Iraqi leader to the massacre of Shiite villagers in the 1980s.


Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein appears at his trial held under tight security in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. The prosecution in the trial of Saddam presented a new report by handwriting experts that linked the deposed Iraqi leader to the massacre of Shiite villagers in the 1980s. [AFP]

After a 90-minute session with Saddam and his seven co-defendants all in court, the trial was adjourned for three weeks to May 15, when the defence is expected to start presenting witnesses.

The tribunal was presented with a new report from handwriting experts that confirmed Saddam's signature was on documents linking him to the killings of 148 Shiites after an attempt on his life in the village of Dujail in 1982.

The latest report claimed that the signatures of all defendants were "matching" except for that of Mizhar Abdallah Ruweid, a former Baath party official in the Dujail area.

Saddam and his seven co-accused pleaded not guilty to charges including murder and torture over Dujail killings when the trial opened in October last year. If found guilty, they face the death penalty.
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