Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," and 14 others Aug. 21 faced charges of crimes against humanity for the crushing of a Shiite uprising after the 1991 Gulf War as Iraq's third trial against former regime officials got under way with three of the defendants already sentenced to death in another case.

The Iraqi High Tribunal said the defendants are charged with engaging in systematic attacks against the civilian population, and the evidence would include testimony from about 90 victims and witnesses. Saddam and some others have already been hanged for killings of 148 Shiites in 1982.