Five former Saddam officials charged

BAGHDAD, Iraq – For the first time since U.S. troops toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein, an Iraqi judge Monday ordered officials of the former government to stand trial in connection with atrocities committed during the dictator’s three-decade reign.

The trials were ordered for five former officials of Saddam’s regime who were accused of ordering attacks in the tiny village of Dujail in retaliation for a 1982 assassination attempt against the dictator there. If convicted, the men could face the death penalty.

At least 143 residents of the village, 40 miles northeast of Baghdad, were rounded up and executed after the attempt failed, prosecutors said. Hundreds of others were imprisoned and acres of crops were razed, destroying the area’s farm economy.

The assassination plot was said to have been engineered by the Dawa Party, an influential Shiite Muslim political faction whose leader, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, is now the top contender to become Iraq’s new prime minister.

The five men, including one of Saddam’s half-brothers, appeared separately before Iraqi Special Tribunal Judge Raed Jouhi al-Saadi, who ruled that the evidence against them was strong enough for referral to a five-judge panel that will decide their guilt or innocence.

Monday’s proceedings were closed to the public and kept secret until they were over because of security risks.

There was no word on when the panel would begin hearing testimony and examining evidence in the case. At least 45 days must pass between Monday’s referral and the beginning of a trial, according to Iraqi law.

All of the men have been given defense attorneys, a statement from the tribunal said.

Iraqi prosecutors have accused other former officials, including Saddam, of crimes. But Monday’s rulings were the first time that charges were referred for trial.