At the beginning of the 1980s, Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid was a representative of Saddam’s Baath Party in the region of Dujail and is now 79 years of age.
Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid is accused of having participated in the execution of more than 140 inhabitants of the village of Dujail and in unlawful arrests of approximately 1500 people.
The events in Dujail started to unroll on 8 July 1982 when Saddam Hussein visited the Shiite town to meet with tribal leaders. Dujail was a stronghold of the Shiite Dawa Party which carried out terrorist attacks in Iraq to protest against the war with Shiite Iran. The Dawa party wanted to assassinate Saddam Hussein to avenge the execution of one of its founders. When Hussein’s motorcade entered the city, the Dawa members opened fire. A four hour battle ensued. Saddam Hussein was saved by soldiers and army helicopters. He is said to have assured that there would not be any acts of retaliation. However, the secret service soon went into action: the town’s fruit plantations were destroyed and nearly 150 people killed. The youngest victims were 13 years old.
These events in Dujail constitute the main focus of the trial before the Special Tribunal.
