BAGHDAD, Iraq – The Iraqi government ordered the chief judge in the genocide trial of Saddam Hussein to step down Tuesday because he said last week that Hussein was “not a dictator,” prompting legal experts to voice concern that the dismissal could undermine the independence of the tribunal hearing the case.
The Iraqi Cabinet voted unanimously to remove the judge, Abdullah al-Amiri, who had served as a judge during Hussein’s rule, because it felt he was no longer impartial and his conduct had “injured the feelings of the victims in the case,” government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.
The new chief judge is a Shiite Arab, as is al-Amiri.
Hussein faces a possible death penalty if convicted on genocide charges over the Anfal military offensive against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s.
A verdict in Hussein’s first trial – over alleged atrocities against Shiites in the town of Dujail – is expected Oct. 16.
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