Saddam Hussein Trial Fast Facts

Here is some background information about the trials and execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Hussein was charged with premeditated murder, imprisonment and the deprivation of physical movement, forced deportation and torture.

Seven other defendants stood trial with Hussein: Barzan Hassan, Taha Yassin Ramadan, Awad al-Bandar, Abdullah Ruwaid, Ali Dayem Ali, Mohammed Azzawi Ali and Mizher Ruwaid.

July 8, 1982 - Residents of the Shiite Muslim town of Dujail, Iraq, fire on Hussein's motorcade. In retaliation, about 150 residents are executed.

March 19, 2003 - The second Gulf War begins, code named Operation Iraqi Freedom.

December 14, 2003 - The US Department of Defense announces Hussein has been captured in a cellar, or "spider hole," at a farmhouse in Tikrit on December 13, 2003.

June 30, 2004 - The Coalition turns over legal control of Hussein and 11 other former top Iraqi officials to the interim Iraqi government, but they remain in the physical custody of the US for security reasons.