| Saddams judge kept secret for safety sake Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/398768|top|04-21-2004::05:07|reuters.htmlhttp://news.myway.com/top/article/id/398768|top|04-21-2004::05:07|reuters.html
Saddam's Judges Kept a Secret for Safety's Sake Apr 21, 4:56 AM (ET)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq has chosen judges and prosecutors to try Saddam Hussein but their identities are being kept secret for fear the toppled Iraqi leader's supporters will hunt them down. Salem Chalabi, a U.S.-educated lawyer who is director-general of administration for the tribunal set up to prosecute Saddam, said on Wednesday seven investigative judges and five prosecutors would take charge of the case.
"They cannot be named due to security concerns," said Chalabi, who has received death threats from supporters of Saddam, who was captured by U.S. troops on December 13 hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit.
A month later the United States declared him a prisoner of war, angering many Iraqis who feared he would escape the death sentence.
His POW status means the former dictator, accused of torturing and sending thousands of Iraqis to mass graves, could have more rights than a war criminal.
Chalabi has said he believes Saddam's status will be changed to war criminal before his trial begins.
Saddam's planned trial has been overshadowed by a fierce Sunni Muslim insurgency that has unleashed suicide bombings against U.S. occupation troops who also have faced militiamen loyal to a radical Shi'ite cleric in recent weeks.
Chalabi said he imagined prosecutors would seek the death penalty for Saddam and other members of his Baath party toppled by a U.S.-led invasion a year ago.
But he said it was far too early to predict when Saddam, also accused of ordering chemical attacks on Kurds, would sit in the dock.
"We are still in the process of starting the investigations," Chalabi said.
The tribunal plans to put some of Saddam's associates on trial first in a bid to extract evidence that will prove a clear chain of command leading to Saddam in atrocities.
Many Iraqis have said they would also like to see some past American officials on trial for supporting Saddam. The United States backed Saddam in his war with Iran in the 1980s. During that time, he also gassed an estimated 5,000 Kurds to death in the village of Halabja.
Washington branded Saddam a tyrant and an enemy after his troops invaded oil-rich Kuwait in 1990.
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