Saddam Hussein's verdict delayed

Tension continues to build around the Iraqi High Tribunal in charge of trying Saddam Hussein and his main collaborators. Although the verdict in the first trial against the former Iraqi president was expected to be rendered on October 16, the Tribunal announced on October 3 that this ruling is being postponed to an unknown date, according to an AP report. "The Tribunal faces a dilemma: a death sentence for the former leader could enrage Sunnis, while anything less is sure to spark Shiite fury," says the report. According to the Tribunal's spokesperson, who was quoted by AP, the reason for the delay has nothing to do with the political climate in Iraq. Rather, it is due to the need to "review the evidence" in order to write a detailed and irreproachable decision. However, the Tribunal is clearly weathering a period of extreme pressure. Judge Oreibi al-Khalifa had barely been appointed as the new presiding judge in the second trial against Saddam Hussein [IJT-52] when his brother-in-law was murdered in a Baghdad street at the end of September. Judge Khalifa was appointed after the government ordered the recusal of Judge al-Amiri, who had said during the trial that Saddam was not a dictator [IJT-53].