A woman searches for her young son at the site of a bomb explosion, Tuesday April 18, 2006 in Baghdad, Iraq (AP)
BAGHDAD, (Reuters) – Saddam Hussein returned to court on Wednesday to face charges of crimes against humanity as the prosecution attempted again to tie the ousted president’s handwriting to execution orders for 148 people in the 1980s.
Chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman read out an expert’s report which stated that all documents had his signature and handwriting.
But Abdel Rahman told the prosecution that one document could not be inspected because it was a photocopy and an original was required.
Saddam and his co-defendants are charged with the killings of 148 Shi’ite men and teenagers after an attempt on his life in the town of Dujail in 1982.
He and seven co-accused could face hanging if found guilty.
The ousted Iraqi president is expected to soon face another trial on charges of genocide against Iraq’s ethnic Kurds in the late 1980s in the Anfal campaign.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein listens to prosecutors during his trial held under tight security in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, April 19, 2006 (AP)
Iraqi men mourn for a relative killed Monday by unknown gunmen, and found in the Dora neighborhood Tuesday April 18, 2006 in Baghdad (AP)
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