The former Iraqi leader and seven codefendants face charges for the killing of Shi'ites in Al-Dujayl after an assassination attempt against Hussein in 1982.
It is unclear, though, if the kidnapping of Judge Walid Ahmad near Tikrit on May 24 is linked to Hussein's trial.
(AFP, dpa)
Saddam Hussein Biography
For a timeline of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's life from his rise within the ranks of the Ba'ath Party and the Revolution Command Council to his regime's ruthless persecution of perceived enemies at home and abroad, click here.