Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 13, 2006 16:47:31 GMT -5
Kurd's Testimony Includes Taunt for Hussein: 'You Are in a
Cage'----Several witnesses tell of vanished and dead kin, allegedly among
the many victims of a 1980s offensive aimed at northern Iraq militants.
A Kurdish villager mocked Saddam Hussein in court Tuesday as the man
recalled the disappearance of his relatives during a 1980s military
campaign in northern Iraq.
"Congratulations! You are in a cage," said the witness, Ghafour Hassan
Abdullah, addressing Hussein and his six codefendants seated behind metal
grates in the courtroom.
The former strongman's patience failed as a defense lawyer described Iraqi
Kurdish rebels as freedom fighters.
"No, they are not! They are collaborators for the Zionists!" Hussein
shouted during his trial on charges that his forces killed as many as
100,000 people during the campaign against Kurdish militants. "We will
crush the heads of all Zionists and their collaborators!"
Several witnesses testified Tuesday at the trial, which is expected to
last until at least December, about abuses by Hussein's military.
Akram Ali Hussein, 41, described what he said was a chemical attack in
1987 on the village of Sikanyan.
"We saw all the bushes had turned white," he said.
The following year, he said, the village was bombarded again and a dozen
relatives, including his mother, sister and brother, were imprisoned.
Later, he said, he learned that 2 cousins had died of hunger and that
their bodies had been eaten by dogs at the prison.
"I want the whole world to know what he did," the witness said of the
former Iraqi leader.
Hussein seemed exasperated on several occasions.
"When I am right I cannot be scared, and I don't think there is a power on
Earth that can shake even one hair of my mustache," Hussein declared. "But
I have noticed today that there were too many insults. And when you put a
lion in a cage, any coward can put a stick in the cage and frighten him."
(source: Los Angeles Times)
Cage'----Several witnesses tell of vanished and dead kin, allegedly among
the many victims of a 1980s offensive aimed at northern Iraq militants.
A Kurdish villager mocked Saddam Hussein in court Tuesday as the man
recalled the disappearance of his relatives during a 1980s military
campaign in northern Iraq.
"Congratulations! You are in a cage," said the witness, Ghafour Hassan
Abdullah, addressing Hussein and his six codefendants seated behind metal
grates in the courtroom.
The former strongman's patience failed as a defense lawyer described Iraqi
Kurdish rebels as freedom fighters.
"No, they are not! They are collaborators for the Zionists!" Hussein
shouted during his trial on charges that his forces killed as many as
100,000 people during the campaign against Kurdish militants. "We will
crush the heads of all Zionists and their collaborators!"
Several witnesses testified Tuesday at the trial, which is expected to
last until at least December, about abuses by Hussein's military.
Akram Ali Hussein, 41, described what he said was a chemical attack in
1987 on the village of Sikanyan.
"We saw all the bushes had turned white," he said.
The following year, he said, the village was bombarded again and a dozen
relatives, including his mother, sister and brother, were imprisoned.
Later, he said, he learned that 2 cousins had died of hunger and that
their bodies had been eaten by dogs at the prison.
"I want the whole world to know what he did," the witness said of the
former Iraqi leader.
Hussein seemed exasperated on several occasions.
"When I am right I cannot be scared, and I don't think there is a power on
Earth that can shake even one hair of my mustache," Hussein declared. "But
I have noticed today that there were too many insults. And when you put a
lion in a cage, any coward can put a stick in the cage and frighten him."
(source: Los Angeles Times)