Iran prepares evidence against Saddam
Iran said today it has prepared a complaint against former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein for his 1980 invasion of Iran and for using chemical weapons against Iranians during the neighbouring nations’ eight year war.
Tehran will file the documents with the Iraqi court where Saddam is standing trial, Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.
“One of crimes Saddam committed was his invasion of Iran and starting the war, killing many Iranian citizens and using chemical weapons in Halabja (within Iraq) and other places (in Iran) during the war,” Asefi said.
Iran expects Saddam will face judgment in an open trial for war crimes against it, Asefi said.
“We believe the court has to investigate Saddam’s crimes transparently and openly.”
The new Iraq regime took legal custody of Saddam from the United States on Wednesday, and the former dictator’s first court appearance Thursday dominated TV screens across the Middle East, where such images are unprecedented and prompted many calls for his execution.
The broad charges formally outlined against Saddam included the 1988 chemical weapons massacre of Kurds in Halabja, Iraq, the slaughter of Shiites during a 1991 uprising in southern Iraq and the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
The 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war apparently was not cited.
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