[JURIST] The New York Times reported Monday that the first court case brought against Saddam Hussein in late summer 2005 [JURIST report] before the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) [official website] will relate to the 1982 killings of close to 160 men [IST press release] from the mostly Shiite village of Dujail after an attempt on Saddam's life there. In an effort to speed up the trial process, something Iraq's transitional government supports, the Special Tribunal decided to schedule this early trial of the former Iraqi president on lesser-known charges. US advisors had promoted a slower process of trying Saddam's close aides first and waiting until 2006 to bring Saddam himself to court. Hussein will eventually face trial for chemical weapons attacks on Kurdish villages, the murderous suppression of a Shiite rebellion, and the killings of more than 500 family members of Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani [Wikipedia profile]. The New York Times has more.