![Saddam defense minister making court appearance next week](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] An Iraqi official said Friday that former Saddam Hussein Defense Minister, Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad would join Ali Hassan al-Majid – known as "Chemical Ali" – in going before an Iraqi court next week for a hearing in preparation for trial. Ahmad surrendered to US forces in the Mosul area on September 19, 2003. The government of Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has put on a last-minute push on start the trial process for members of the Saddam regime before elections take place next month, although it is not anticipated that Saddam's own trial, which will be much more complex and politically high-profile, will get under way for some time. AP has more.