Now, what does this do? 'New' Iraq executes Saddam and cohorts, then drops charges against them

[ck4829]

Even though Iraq didn't want to give Saddam and his cohorts time to appeal, and even though they execute the people in only 30 days, strangely enough, there is one element of 'mercy', they drop the other charges against the defendants.

This serves a purpose. Even though they are going to be executed or have already been executed, Saddam and the other members of his regime could be tried in absentia for other crimes.

""The Iraqi Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence on Ali Hassan al-Majid, Sultan Hashim al-Tai and Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti," the court head Judge Aref Shaheen told a press conference.

He and the other two condemned men are currently on trial for their roles in brutally crushing a Shiite uprising in southern Iraq in 1991, but the charges against them will be dropped once they have been executed.

Saddam, driven from power by a US-led invasion in April 2003, was executed on December 30 for crimes against humanity in a separate case and charges against him over the Anfal campaign were dropped."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070904/ts_afp/iraqtrialali

[EST]

1. An aspect of that culture that is unique,

I can imagine all sorts of damage such a policy would create but no reason why it would be a good thing.

[Crabby Appleton]

2. Two different cases- Saddam was convicted and executed for

crimes committed against residents of Dujail in 1982, following a failed assassination attempt against him. Specific charges included the murder of 148 people, torture of women and children and the illegal arrest of 399 others. The Anfal case is a different case that he had not been tried for yet. The last sentence in your posted quote mentions that, but is not clearly stated.

[jmowreader]

3. I can really understand why they did this

Saddam's people, and Saddam himself, committed so many crimes so rapidly that trying them in absentia could go on forever. They already executed the sumbitch; it would be much better if they just had someone write a book about the crimes of Saddam, Chemical Ali, Uday, Husay and the rest of the gang, and used the courts to try the new gang of bandits the US installed after we got rid of the old gang of bandits the US installed.