[JURIST] The trial of former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and seven co-defendants resumed Tuesday, three weeks after a brief opening session and subsequent adjournment [JURIST report] at the Iraqi High Tribunal [official website] in Baghdad. Some members of the defense's legal team were missing, but lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano told AKI that he did not "want to grant credibility to the tribunal" [AKI report] by appearing. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage.

Aziz was deputy prime minister under Saddam Hussein's regime. He and his co-defendants are charged in connection with the 1992 execution of 42 merchants accused of price-gouging during a period of UN sanctions. One of the defendants, Ali Hassan al-Majid [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], known in the Western media as "Chemical Ali," did not attend the opening session last month due to ill health [JURIST report] brought on by a self-imposed hunger strike, but was present at Tuesday's proceedings.