http://web.krg.org/articles/article_detail.asp?LangNr=12&RubricNr=&ArticleNr=15592&LNNr=28&RNNr=70Iraq's Kurds expressed satisfaction yesterday at the death of Saddam Hussein, but their joy was tempered with disappointment that their greatest tormentor would never face justice for what he had done to them.
Saddam had been standing trial in a second case on charges of genocide against the Kurds during the Anfal campaign in the late 1980s, during which more than 4,000 villages were destroyed and more than 100,000 people killed in a series of military sweeps in the Kurdistan region that included the regular use of chemical weapons.
The former dictator was also due to face separate charges over the gas attack on Halabja in March 1988 that killed 5,000 Kurds. Sources at the special tribunal trying Saddam and six members of his former regime in the Anfal trial said yesterday that proceedings would resume on January 8. The remaining defendants are Ali Hassan Majid, known as Chemical Ali, a cousin of Saddam, described by Kurds as the evil face of the Anfal campaign; Sultan Hashim Ahmad Jabburi Tai, former defence minister; Sabir Abdul Aziz Douri, director of military intelligence; Hussein Rashid Mohammed, a senior military officer; Taher Tawfiq Ani, former governor of Nineveh province; and Farhan Mutlaq Jubouri, head of military intelligence in northern Iraq.
Under Iraqi law, all outstanding charges against an executed person must be dropped. Without the interest that would be caused by the presence of the chief defendant, Kurds fear that their past suffering will attract less attention from fellow Iraqis and the international community.
more....
Flashback to August 2006Kurds await justice as Saddam trial beginshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,,1854764,00.htmlsnip>
But today's trial is on a different scale to anything Iraq's post-Saddam judicial system has tackled before. And there are already grave concerns as to whether the Iraqi High Tribunal can handle it.
"The charge of genocide is the most serious crime there is and unless the Iraqi tribunal does a much better job on its second case than it did in the Dujail trial, the victims of the Anfal won't see justice done," said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch's international justice programme. "Proving that Saddam Hussein is responsible for genocide will require the prosecutor
that the accused intended to eliminate the victims specifically because they were Kurds, and not just because they were political opponents."
The court in the Dujail trial was heavily criticised for its chaotic administration and over-reliance on anonymous witnesses. The tribunal also failed to ensure protection for the defence counsel, three of whom were assassinated.
A senior member of the tribunal, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted the Dujail case had been rushed, but said the court was much better prepared for the Anfal trial. "This is a vast and complicated case that could take months," he said. "It has involved sifting through thousands of witness testimonies, tonnes of official documents from the former regime, and forensic evidence from mass graves." The tribunal, he said, "would work according to internationally accepted standards".
snip>
The Kurdistan regional government said yesterday it would demand that the central Iraqi government compensates victims of the regime of Saddam Hussein, as provided for in the Iraqi constitution.
Hmmmm, another follow the money story? Did the execution protect the US by burying secrets and the Iraqi government from compensation to the Kurds? 
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