Saddam Refuses to Plead in Genocide Trial

by Corey Flintoff, NPR

Unseated Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein refuses to answer charges connected to the infamous Anfal campaign. In the case, Hussein and six co-defendants are accused of orchestrating the killings of tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds during the late 1980s, in what has been described as an attempt to depopulate a broad swath of land along Iraq's border with Iran.

Prosecutors say the result was achieved with bombs, bullets and poison gas. A verdict in the case is not expected to be delivered until October.

Broadcast Dates

• All Things Considered, August 21, 2006