Chief prosecutor implicates Saddam in chemical attacks

BAGHDAD – The chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussein’s trial presented memos from the ousted president’s office approving chemical attacks against Kurdish villages, the most serious evidence against him in his genocide trial.

Munqith al-Faroon on Monday showed the Iraqi court trying Saddam and six other former regime members about 25 documents, including some presidential letters instructing the army to use “special ammunition” – identified as “mustard gas” – to quell a Kurdish rebellion in 1987. Some of the documents bore Saddam’s signature, al-Faroon said.Documents from Saddam’s government played a crucial role in his first trial, for the 1987 killing of Shiites in the town of Dujail.In that trial, which ended with Saddam being sentenced to death, prosecutors presented memos with his signature approving death sentences for Shi’ites and rewarding intelligence agents for their role in the Dujail crackdown.As in past hearings, Saddam said Monday that anything that occurred during his 34-year rule of Iraq was ultimately his responsibility, but he did not say he ordered the attacks.Nampa-APSome of the documents bore Saddam’s signature, al-Faroon said.Documents from Saddam’s government played a crucial role in his first trial, for the 1987 killing of Shiites in the town of Dujail.In that trial, which ended with Saddam being sentenced to death, prosecutors presented memos with his signature approving death sentences for Shi’ites and rewarding intelligence agents for their role in the Dujail crackdown.As in past hearings, Saddam said Monday that anything that occurred during his 34-year rule of Iraq was ultimately his responsibility, but he did not say he ordered the attacks.Nampa-AP