Trial of Saddam Hussein under their joint chairmanship, of an international Emergency Committee for Iraq, with a main objective of ensuring fair trials for Saddam and the other former Ba'ath Party officials being tried with him. On 18 July 2005, Saddam was charged by the Special Tribunal with the first of an expected series of charges, relating to the mass killings of the inhabitants of the village of Dujail in 1982 after a failed assassination attempt against him. On 8 August 2005, Saddam's family announced that they had dissolved the Jordan-based legal team and that they had appointed Khalil al-Duleimi, the only Iraq-based member,
Execution of Saddam Hussein flawed trial and marks a significant step away from the rule of law in Iraq." Amnesty International issued a statement that it "opposed the death penalty in all circumstances but it was especially egregious when this ultimate punishment is imposed after an unfair trial." Two days before the execution, the International Federation of Human Rights released a statement calling upon the Head of State to issue a moratorium on the death sentence pronounced against Saddam Hussein by hanging. The organization also said Saddam should be treated as a prisoner of war under the Geneva Conventions. Juan Cole said that the