Saddam 'won't respond' to charges

Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants will not be asked to respond to specific charges when they appear today before an Iraqi judge today.

Salem Chalabi, the director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, said Saddam will face a single judge in today’s session, expected to take place in or around Baghdad International Airport.

“Basically it’s an arraignment,” Chalabi said. “An indictment has not been issued. There isn’t always an indictment first.”

Criminal charges stemming from Saddam’s brutal regime will be outlined before the judge, but the defendants will not have to respond, Chalabi said.

President Ghazi al-Yawer told an Arab newspaper that Iraq’s new government has decided to reinstate the death penalty, suspended during the US occupation that ended this week.

The initial proceedings are taking place under a blanket of secrecy because of fears that insurgents, many of them Saddam supporters, might exact revenge on those taking part.

US and Iraqi officials refused to say where the hearing would take place or release the name of the presiding judge. No pictures will be allowed of any of the Iraqi participants – except for the defendants – to protect them from attack. Only a few journalists will be allowed to attend.