International

Saddam's Trial Resumes Amid Turmoil

By Liane Hansen, Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Published January 29, 2006 at 12:06 PM PST

This story was published more than 20 years ago.

Saddam Hussein's trial resumes in Baghdad with a new chief judge, and descends into chaos almost immediately as Saddam and three other defendants shout at the judge and walk out of the court.

Saddam and seven others face charges in the deaths of 140 Shiite Muslims in 1982 following an assassination attempt in the village of Dujail.

The trial began on Oct. 19 but it's been plagued by the killing of two defense lawyers, death threats directed at judges and quarrels over safeguarding the trial's independence from political interference.

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Liane Hansen

Liane Hansen has been the host of NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday for 20 years. She brings to her position an extensive background in broadcast journalism, including work as a radio producer, reporter, and on-air host at both the local and national level. The program has covered such breaking news stories as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the capture of Saddam Hussein, the deaths of Princess Diana and John F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Columbia shuttle tragedy. In 2004, Liane was granted an exclusive interview with former weapons inspector David Kay prior to his report on the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The show also won the James Beard award for best radio program on food for a report on SPAM.

Lulu Garcia-Navarro

Lulu Garcia-Navarro is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday and one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. She is infamous in the IT department of NPR for losing laptops to bullets, hurricanes, and bomb blasts.

Saddam's Trial Resumes Amid Turmoil

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