Two Germans accused of illegally equipping Iraq with technology to build long-range cannon went on trial today charged with violating German weapons-export laws.
The role of foreign companies selling equipment to Iraq was highlighted last month when the names of firms that sold weapons and equipment to Baghdad for its military programmes were released by the United Nations.
Although most of the transactions took place before the 1991 UN sanctions against Iraq were in place, the lists showed that German companies were deeply involved. More than half the firms listed were German.
The defendants called before the Mannheim state court were conducting their business in 1999, long after the UN embargoes against Iraq were in place.
Mr Bernd Schompeter, 59, and Mr Willi Heinz Ribbeck, 53, have been accused of setting up front companies in Jordan and using an Iraqi middleman to "deliver drills capable of and made to build artillery cannon to Iraq".
If found guilty, they face up to 15 years in prison. A verdict is expected by January 31st. Iraq has dismissed the allegations as part of a plot inspired by Israel and the United States.
AP