Saddam Hussein will have his day in court. On Sunday, a special tribunal in Iraq filed the first formal charges against Iraq’s former ruler.
Hussein was charged with allegedly ordering the execution of about 150 people in Dubail, a small town north of Baghdad. The massacre was in retaliation for an assassination attempt against Saddam near Dujail in 1982. The trial may start as early as the fall, and if he is convicted, Hussein could face death by hanging.
Some human rights groups criticize the tribunal as an illegal court set up under an occupation. But others say it will showcase justice and the rule of law in a country still unraveling in chaos, where bombs rain down and sectarian strife rules the day.
Guests:
Luke Baker, Baghdad Correspondent for Reuters
Michael Scharf, Professor of Law at Case Western University in Cleveland, Ohio
Robert Weiner, political analyst, former Clinton Administration Public Affairs Officer, currently the Director of Robert Weiner Associates, based in Washington, DC.