One of the five judges in the Saddam Hussein trial has stepped down after learning that one of the defendants may have been involved in the execution of his brother, a court official said today.
Raid Juhi said the judge removed himself last week and has been replaced in time for tomorrow's hearing.
Juhi declined to give further details or identify the defendant involved. Names of both judges were not released since security regulations prohibit the publication of the identities of all tribunal members except the chief judge, Rizgar Mohammed Amin.
Tomorrow's session will be the third so far since the proceedings opened on October 19th. Amin granted a week's adjournment on November 28th so that one of Saddam's seven co-defendants, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, could find a replacement for his court-appointed lawyer.
All eight defendants are charged with ordering the killing of more than 140 people from the mainly Shia town of Dujail north of Baghdad after an attempt on Saddam's life there in 1982. If convicted, the eight could face the death penalty.
