|
Saddam Hussein trial resumes in Baghdad
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-28 20:34
Several mortar blasts could be heard in central Baghdad, although it was
unclear where they occurred. There were no immediate casualty reports.
Tight security surrounds the court proceedings. The precise starting time was
not announced due to fear of attack by both Saddam's supporters and opponents.
Meanwhile, Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs for allegedly plotting to
kill the judge who prepared the indictment of Saddam, authorities said Sunday.
The eight alleged plotters from Iraq's Sunni Arab minority were apprehended
Saturday in the northern city of Kirkuk, police Col. Anwar Qadir said.
He said they were carrying written instructions from a former top Saddam
deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, ordering them to kill investigating judge Raed
Juhi, who prepared the case against Saddam and forwarded it to the trial court
in July.
Al-Douri is the highest ranking member of the Saddam regime still at large
and is believed to be at least the symbolic leader of Saddam loyalists fighting
U.S. forces and Iraq's new government.
"As an Iraqi citizen and a judge, I am vulnerable to
assassination attempts," Juhi told The Associated Press. "If I thought about
this danger, then I would not be able to perform my job ... I will practice my
profession in a way that serves my country and satisfies my conscience."
|
