Saddam goes on trial for 1982 massacre
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-19 19:11

In Wednesday's session, the charges were to be read out for the first time, and the defense was expected to ask for a three-month adjournment. The court was expected to grant one, though for how long was not known.

The trial was aired with around a 20-minute delay on state-run Iraqi television and on satellite stations across Iraq and the Arab world. After about 40 minutes, the television feed cut out for a short time, then returned. Throughout the hearings, sound quality was often too poor to follow their words.

Many Iraqis were gathered around sets to watch. In particular, the Shiite Muslim majority and the Kurdish minority — the two communities most oppressed by Saddam's regime — have eagerly awaited the chance to see the man who ruled Iraq with unquestioned and total power held to justice.

"I'm very happy today. We've prayed for this day for years," said Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, who was an anti-Saddam opposition leader in exile for years and now is one of the fiercest proponents of the purge of Baathists from the government.

Salman Zaboun Shanan, a Shiite construction worker, sat with his family at home in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, having taken the day off from work to watch the trial. "I hope he is executed, and that anyone who suffered can take a piece of his flesh," said Shanan, who was imprisoned during Saddam's rule.

But across the Tigris River in the mainly Sunni Arab district of Azamiyah, some were embittered over the trial of Saddam, whose regime was dominated by Sunni Arabs who have now lost their power.

"Saddam is the lesser of evils," said Sahab Awad Maaruf, an engineer, comparing Saddam to the current Shiite-Kurdish led government. "He's the only legitimate leader for Iraqis."