Iraqi tribunal quizzes Saddam on 1982 killings

Iraqis saw Saddam Hussein on camera for the first time in a year yesterday, apparently being questioned by a judge about killings of Shi'ite villagers that the government thinks could be a test case for a swift trial.

Officials of the Iraqi Special Tribunal said it was made when prosecutors interviewed the ousted president about his role in apparent revenge executions of dozens of men after an attempt on his life in the village of Dujail in 1982.

The Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government has said it wants to try him for his life within months - before an election due in December. US and international demands that a trial look fair and fully prepared suggest that a timetable is improbable.

Tribunal officials responded to government calls for a quick trial last week by insisting they would not be rushed. But for ministers struggling to bring order, showing progress on trying Saddam - however superficial - is a popular move.

Several of Saddam's lieutenants were shown talking to the same judge in the run-up to an election in January - a move critics called a campaign stunt by the then prime minister.

The killings of Shi'ite men from Dujail - by some accounts over 140 - pale in comparison with some of the accusations against Saddam, who looked relaxed, if sombre, bearded and wearing a dark jacket, as on his last appearance in July.

But a government source has told Reuters that prosecutors believe they can build a strong test case for Saddam's personal role at Dujail, possibly based on testimony from a half-brother and the former vice-president, accelerating the trial process.

Proving guilt for genocide and crimes against humanity in broader cases, such as the suppression of Shi'ite and Kurdish uprisings, may take much longer - as four years of proceedings against former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic have shown.

Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari's office declined comment.

The prosecution will allege the killings were reprisals for a gun attack on Saddam's motorcade as it passed through Dujail, 60 kilometres north of Baghdad, in July 1982. The village's date groves were destroyed and hundreds of residents interned.

Saddam has yet to be formally charged on any count, although a list of broad accusations has been made. Any trial this year would look unduly hasty, many legal experts argue.

His half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti and vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan are among five men already charged over Dujail.

"Answer the question, answer the question," presiding judge Raad Jouhi could be seen telling Saddam in the silent film. The tribunal said Saddam's lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi was present.