Genocide charges against Saddam Hussein for the killing of 180,000 Kurds in the 1980s have been dropped in his absence as the case against six co-defendants resumed.
As the trial of those accused of the al-Anfal killings re-started this morning, including that of Saddam's cousin often referred to as 'Chemical Ali,' the accused ex-dictator's seat was empty after he went to the gallows on December 30.
Shortly after the case re-started this morning, the chief judge dropped the case against Saddam in his absence. The ex-dictator was hanged after being found guilty in an earlier trial of the killing of 148 Shia Muslims in the town of Dujail, but many Kurds were disappointed that he was executed before facing justice for his role in the al-Anfal campaign, which was numerically the most serious of his crimes and one which drew horror and revulsion around the world.
Speaking at the start of this morning's case, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, the chief judge, said the court decided to stop all legal action against the former president, since "the death of defendant Saddam death was confirmed".
Saddam was hanged in a chaotic execution which led to global criticism. As the tyrant was taken to the gallows, mobile phone footage taken by observers was transferred all over Iraq and placed on the Internet. It showed Saddam being taunted and becoming involved in slanging matches with his executioners and observers.
International observers feared that the manner of the execution could simply lead to an increase in the sectarian violence in the divided country.
All seven defendants in the al-Anfal case, including Saddam, had denied charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Saddam and one other man also pleaded not guilty to the additional charge of genocide.
After the decision to drop charges against Saddam, a bailiff called out the names of the other accused, and the six men walked silently into the courtroom one after another.
Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" because of his alleged use of chemical weapons against the Kurds, started the trial by trying to read a prayer from the Koran in memory of Saddam, but the judge ordered him to stop. He also wore a long beard as a sign of mourning.
The defence claims that the campaign - codenamed al-Anfal, or "the spoils of war" - was a legitimate operation to quell a rebellion after some Kurds sided with the enemy during the Iran-Iraq war while the prosecution and the West labels it as a war crime and genocide.
The trial had been in recess since 21 December. Its resumption will throw the spotlight back on the Iraqi judicial system, which came under international criticism for the handling of Saddam's execution.
After the chaotic execution, the United Nations called for a stay of execution for two others sentenced to death in the Dujail trial, but the Iraqi Government says the execution of Barzan al-Tikriti and Awad al-Bandar - the other parties found guilty alongside Saddam - will take place this week.
Meanwhile, Tony Blair's spokesman said on Sunday that the manner of Saddam's killing was "completely wrong." The Prime Minister's comments, which he is expected to reiterate personally this week, followed similar condemnations by Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Mr Blair's expected successor when he leaves office later this year, along with John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, and Patricia Hewitt, the Health Secretary.
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