Special Iraqi Tribunal Begins Hussein Trial

On October 18, 2005, the Special Iraqi Tribunal opened its trial against Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants to answer for atrocities centering on the execution of nearly 150 men and teenage boys in Dujail, a mostly Shiite market town 35 miles north of Baghdad after secret police acted after an assassination attempt against Mr. Hussein there in 1982. All the defendants pleaded not guilty. According to Iraqi officials, they chose to first try Hussein with the Dujail case because it would be relatively straightforward to prosecute. The case involves a series of well-documented events, from the assassination attempt through the death sentences and executions at Abu Ghraib prison ? [more]