Iran urges Iraqi court to investigate Saddam's war crime against Iran

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki on Wednesday urged the Iraqi special tribunal to adopt Tehran's indictment that former president Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against Iranians during the 1980-1988 war.

"During the war, Saddam used chemical weapons against Iran 200 times, which left 100,000 people chemically disabled," Mottaki was quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency as saying.

Mottaki expressed dissatisfaction with the Iraqi failure to adopt Iran's indictment, saying it was a result of the United States' pressure.

"The court has yet to review Saddam's crimes abroad. We want his crimes against Iranians to be investigated," he said, stressing that Iran was "closely observing the trial".

The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven codefendants resumed on Wednesday after an interval of two weeks with three witnesses giving their testimonies over the alleged Dujail massacre in 1982.

The judge announced adjournment of the trial until Thursday after Saddam complained that he had been tortured by the US guards since his capture in late 2003.

Tehran in September prepared an indictment including charges of war crimes against Saddam and turned it over to the Iraqi government without reaction from Baghdad.

Source: Xinhua