Saddam Hussein's trial for genocide against the Kurds resumed Monday, a day after the chief defense lawyer warned of worsening violence in Iraq if the ex-president is sentenced to death in a separate trial for a crackdown on a Shiite Muslim village in the 1980s. The chief lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, attended Monday's session, ending a monthlong boycott of the Kurdish genocide trial. The trial resumed after a 10-day break to mark Eid el-Fitr, the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. A verdict in Saddam's first trial is expected Nov. 5. He and seven others are charged with crimes against humanity in connection with the killing of 148 Shiites from Dujail after an attempt to assassinate him in the town in 1982. If convicted, he can be hanged, but is likely to appeal to a higher court, the Associated Press reported.
