Saddam to face charges of premeditated murder and torture

Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein will face charges of premeditated murder, torture and forced expulsion and disappearances when he goes on trial next week for a 1982 massacre of Shiites, a court official said today.

A second case against Saddam and other defendants for another of the atrocities allegedly carried out by his regime could be presented to the Iraqi Special Tribunal within days, investigating judge Raid Juhi said in Baghdad.