October 19, 2005: Saddam puts up a fight in court
October 19, 2005: Saddam puts up a fight in court
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Published: 17:15 October 18, 2015
2005: Saddam puts up a fight in court
On the first day of his trial, a defiant Saddam Hussain pleaded innocent to charges of crimes against humanity, arguing about the legitimacy of a special court where he briefly scuffled with guards. The long-awaited trial provoked varied reactions in Iraq and abroad, ranging from cries of praise and justice finally being meted out to outright criticism of the court. “I said what I said, I am not guilty, I am innocent,” Saddam defiantly told the court after the presiding judge, Kurdish magistrate Rizgar Mohammad Ameen, read out the charges of torture and murder, over the 1982 massacre of more than 140 people in the Iraqi village of Dujail in 1982. Saddam and his seven co-defendants could face the death penalty if convicted. Saddam’s lawyer Khalil Dulaimi, who has frequently complained of not having time to prepare a defence, had requested a three-month delay. Judge started the hearing by asking Saddam to give the court his first, second and third name. “As an Iraqi you should know who I am” Saddam said.
Other important events on October 19
1765 - The Stamp Act Congress, meeting in New York, draws up a declaration of rights and liberties.1781 - British troops under Lord Cornwallis surrender in Virginia, ending the American revolution.
1933 - Germany withdraws from the League of Nations.
1950 - UN forces enter Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
1951 - US President Harry Truman formally ends the state of war with Germany.
1953 - TWA launches the first regularly scheduled non-stop transcontinental air service between New York and Los Angeles
1960 - US imposes an embargo on exports to Cuba covering all commodities except medical supplies and certain food products.
1983 - Grenada’s Prime Minister Maurice Bishop is shot and killed in an army takeover.
1984 - A young Polish pro-Solidarity priest, the Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko, is abducted and murdered by Communist secret police.
1985 - Former British prime minister James Callaghan announces his retirement from the House of Commons after 40 years.
1987 - The stock market crashes as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunges 508 points, its biggest-ever percentage drop in decades.
1988 - At least 164 people are killed in twin plane crashes in India
1990 - The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopts a long-awaited plan to reform the nation’s economy.
1993 - Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as prime minister of Pakistan for a second term.
1995 - A powerful bomb explodes at Sri Lanka’s main oil storage tank in a Colombo suburb.
1996 - Chechen separatists install their military commander Aslan Maskhadov as prime minister of a makeshift coalition government.
2003 -Pope John Paul II beatifies Mother Teresa during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.
2004 - Myanmar’s military regime forces out its prime minister Gen Khin Nyunt and places him under house arrest on corruption charges.
2006 - Ras Al Khaimah receives its first European chartered flight carrying 166 tourists.
2008 - McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix.
2010 - Islamist insurgents, including a suicide bomber, storm Chechnya’s Parliament, leaving six people dead.
2011 - Hundreds of youths smash and loot stores in central Athens and clash with riot police during a massive anti-government rally.
2012 - Wissam Al Hassan, the head of a Lebanese intelligence agency, is killed in a car bomb in Beirut.
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