[originaltext] The Iraqi Special Tribunal has brought its first charges again

The Iraqi Special Tribunal has brought its first charges against Saddam Hussein for alleged crimes during his reign, the tribunal announced Sunday.
   The charges were announced by Judge Raed Juhi, chief investigative judge of the tribunal. They are connected with a 1982 series of detentions and executions after an assassination attempt on Saddam in Dujayl.
   Charges against five other men were announced in February. The men will not be tried individually.
   "With this announcement, the [tribunal] has raised this historic trial to a new level where the accused stands before justice which will rely on evidence," Juhi said.
   No trial date was announced, but under Iraqi law Saddam could stand trial as early as September, because of a minimum 45-day period following referral for trial.
   On July 8, 1982, a convoy carrying Saddam traveled through the town of Dujayl, a Shiite village north of Baghdad, and was attacked by a small band of residents.
   A series of detentions and executions in the town followed the incident. According to the tribunal, 15 people were summarily executed and some 1,500 others spent years in prison with no charges and no trial date. Ultimately, another 143 were put on "show trials" and executed, according to the tribunal.
   Speaking from Rome, Italy, an attorney for Saddam questioned whether a trial would ever be held at all.
   "As of today, we still do not have a single document purporting to be anything where we can be ready for trial, and after their own rules ... we will require ... time to be able to prepare a defense," said Giovanni di Stefano. "Anything other than that would make it a farce."