News[JURIST] Judge Barwez Mohammed Mahmoud al-Merwani and his son, lawyer Aryan Barwez al-Merwani, both of whom were working with the Iraqi Special Tribunal [governing statute] were assassinated late Tuesday [CBC News report] as they were exiting their Baghdad home. In the wake of contradictory wire reports that had initially misidentified the murdered judge as Raid Juhi al-Saadi, who had presided over Hussein's first appearance before the tribunal in July, Interior Ministry officials confirmed the killing of al-Merwani Wednesday, saying that the judge was involved in Saddam Hussein's case. The Iraqi Special Tribunal was established in 2003 to try Saddam Hussein [JURIST Newsmakers archive] and other former high-level officials for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Police are investigating whether the killings were connected to the pair's work at the tribunal. Reuters has more.
