2006年VOA标准英语-Saddam Hussein Defiant During Opening of Second

（单词翻译）

By VOA News
21 August 2006
 
watch Trial report

		Saddam Hussein gestures during first day of trial, Monday Aug. 21, 2006

The second trial of ousted¹ Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein opened Monday in Baghdad on charges of genocide for a violent campaign against minority Kurds nearly two decades ago.

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A defiant² Saddam refused to state his name or enter a plea to the charges. The chief judge entered a plea of not guilty for him.

Saddam and his six co-defendants are charged in connection with Operation Anfal, an Iraqi military campaign that prosecutors⁴ said killed more than 180,000 Kurds in 1987 and 1988. The slaughter⁵ began after Kurds were accused of aiding Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Among Saddam's co-defendants is Ali Hassan al-Majid, who became known as "Chemical Ali" for allegedly ordering poison gas attacks against the Kurds.

Saddam erupted in anger during the proceedings⁶ when the prosecutor³ said Kurdish women were raped⁷ in prison during the campaign.

Anfal survivors⁸ say entire Kurdish areas in northern Iraq were razed⁹ during the campaign of retaliation¹⁰. They say prohibited chemical agents were used, and thousands of young Kurdish men disappeared.

Saddam is awaiting a verdict from his first trial, which began last year. He could face a death sentence if found guilty of ordering the killing¹¹ of nearly 150 Shi'ite villagers following an assassination¹² attempt against him. The verdict is expected in mid-October.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.