Trial starts for man accused of being Iraqi agent

DETROIT (AP) — A trial has started in Detroit for a former U.S. military translator who is charged with feeding information years earlier to the old regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

George Hamama, a 60-year-old Iraqi native, is charged with conspiracy and making false statements. The government says documents seized after the fall of Hussein revealed that he was an agent and had informed Iraq about the activities of former Iraqis living in the United States in the 1990s.

Hamama lives in El Cajon, Calif., but used to live near Detroit. He was a U.S. military translator in Iraq when he was arrested in 2008.

Prosecutors gave their opening statement Tuesday. In response today, defense attorney Haytham Faraj says Hamama believed he was giving benign information to Iraqi diplomats, not secret agents.