Region | Iraq
Former deputy PM Tariq Aziz faces trial
Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz is due to go on trial on Tuesday over the deaths of dozens of merchants accused of profiteering.
- Agencies
- Published: 08:39 April 29, 2008
- Tariq Aziz could face a sentence of death by hanging if convicted by an Iraqi court.
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Baghdad: Former Iraqi deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz is due to go on trial on Tuesday over the deaths of dozens of merchants accused of profiteering.
However, problems getting him to court delayed the hearing, presiding judge Raouf Abdul Rahman said. "It might be delayed because of procedural issues such as bringing the defendants to court," Rahman told reporters.
A court source who declined to be identified said the trial would probably start around 5pm Iraq time (4pm UAE time).
The trial of 72-year-old Aziz, the only Christian among Saddam Hussain's predominantly Sunni Muslim inner circle, could be the last high-profile Saddam era figure to face prosecution for alleged atrocities.
His son, Ziad, said his father is being prosecuted for political reasons. "My father says the first he heard of this was from the television, he was not even in Baghdad when it happened and the only time that judges have questioned him about it was a brief query if he knew about it three years ago.''
Some defenders of Aziz have accused the Shiite-led government of seeking revenge for Aziz's refusal to testify against the late dictator.
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