On 17 July, the Iraqi Special Tribunal charged former president Saddam Hussein, along with three dignitaries of his former regime, with the massacre of civilians in the Shiite village of Doujail in July 1982. In the first prosecution against him, Hussein is accused of ordering his security forces to kill the 143 Shiites, in the wake of a failed coup in the town in the north of Baghdad. The former dictator could face the death penalty. The Court now has 45 days in which to decide on a trial date. On 21 July, the television station Al-Arabiya broadcast a video of an unspecified date showing Saddam Hussein being questioned by one of the trial judges. The deposed president has complained that he is not being allowed frequent enough access to his lawyers, and accuses the Iraqi government of being a puppet in the hands of the United States. Saddam Hussein is also expected to face charges in connection with the displacement of Kurd populations in 1987 and 1988 and his quelling of the Shiite rebellion after the Kuwaiti war in 1991.