Film shows Saddam legal grilling
Found on BBC News on Sunday, 12 June 2005
New film has been released showing the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein being questioned by magistrates, the first footage of him in almost a year.
Saddam Hussein's lawyers have recently complained that he has been allowed only two meetings with them since being arrested in Iraq in December 2003.
The former Iraqi leader, who is accused of ordering a string of massacres and murders during his rule, looks pensive as he answers questions.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Baghdad says the video portrays Saddam Hussein in a respectful way, but that he does not appear to be as in control of the situation as he did when he appeared in court last year.
Since the invasion (which began March 20, 2003), life isn't much better for the people in Iraq than before. Several sources (for example Human Rights Watch) estimate that 250,000 people were killed during 25 years by the Ba'th Party. More than 100,000 have been killed since the US invasion. Those numbers result in 10,000 deaths/year under Saddam's regime vs 80,000 deaths/year under US occupation. Some may argue that Saddam has killed more and therefore double, triple or even quadruple his "score"; others then might say that the victims of the sanctions and the previous war should be added to the US number. I don't want to defend Saddam here, but people should see the relations.