Saddam Hussein watches calmly as the case is outlined for his execution, reports Doaa El-Bey The prosecution summed up the case against Saddam Hussein by demanding capital punishment for the Iraqi president. In a relatively silent three-hour session Monday, Saddam Hussein was calm and collected as chief prosecutor Jaafar Al-Mussawi delivered his final argument in the eight-month trial. He asked for the death penalty, alleging Saddam showed no mercy in the killing of women and children in a crackdown against Shias in Dujail. Mussawi based his argument on Saddam's open admission for being responsible, as head of state, for the Dujail inquiry, signing documents approving death sentences for 148 people, and ordering the razing of orchards in Dujail after an assassination attempt on him in 1982. Mussawi also asked for the death penalty for Saddam's half-brother, Barzan Al-Tikriti, the head of the intelligence agency at the time, and Taha Yassin Ramadan, former vice president, for the same charge. Justifying his demand for the death penalty against Tikriti and Ramadan, Mussawi said that they were both at a meeting called by Saddam to coordinate the Dujail crackdown. Mussawi also demanded death for Awad Al-Bandar, former head of Saddam's Revolutionary Court that sentenced the 148 Shias to death, because his actions supported the crimes committed by Saddam's regime. Mussawi asked for leniency with regard to three lower-level defendants -- Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid, his son Mizhar Ruwayyid, and Ali Dayih Ali -- saying they committed their acts on orders issued by superiors. Saying the evidence was not sufficient against Mohammed Azawi Ali, he asked for his release, additionally because of his poor health. In addition to standing accused of executing 148 Shia Iraqis following a failed assassination attempt on Saddam in 1982, Saddam and seven co-defendants are also accused of suppressing hundreds, including women and children, after the assassination attempt. The trial, however, is far from over. After a three-week break, it will be the defence's turn to sum up. On 10 July, a lawyer for each defendant will begin their concluding arguments, followed by final statements by each defendant. That process could take up to two weeks. The defence is likely to argue that the Dujail executions were justified because they were in reaction to an assassination attempt on the head of state. It may also maintain its strategy of directly attacking the prosecution, accusing it of fabrication. Earlier this month, the defence put witnesses on the stand contending that some of the 148 the prosecution claims were executed are still alive. After the defence closes, the five-member panel of judges will recess for up to 60 days to consider their verdict that could come late September or early October. At least three of the five judges must agree on a verdict. If the panel agree on the death sentence, it is unlikely to be executed immediately for two reasons: first, defendants have the right to appeal, and it could take months for appeal procedures to conclude; second, Saddam is due to be put on trial for the Anfal military campaign that allegedly killed some 100,000 Iraqi Kurds. The starting date of that trial has not yet been set. It has not been decided whether a death sentence verdict from the first trial would be carried out while Saddam is involved in a second trial, or whether the second trail will start before the conclusion of the first on Dujail. The Dujail trial has been marred by the murder of two defence lawyers and the resignation of the first chief judge in January, as well as frequent outbursts by defendants and presiding judges. Though in its final stages, there are no signs that future sessions will be less eventful than past ones.
