[Kagan:] American journalist Jill Carroll spent 82 days as a hostage in Iraq. Her bosses and co-workers spent that time working behind the scenes for her release. Now an emotional homecoming at "The Christian Science Monitor." CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff shows us.
[Allan Chernoff, Cnn Senior Correspondent:] The joyful family reunion videotaped by Jill Carroll's dad, Jim.
[Unidentified Male:] Hello, everyone.
[Chernoff:] Monday, a celebration of freedom in the newsroom of "The Christian Science Monitor," former hostage Jill Carroll thanked her colleagues for working to get her released.
[Jill Carroll, Freed Journalist:] I just want to say how much I'm overwhelmed by how wonderful the paper has been to my family and to everyone.
[Chernoff:] "The Christian Science Monitor," which put freelancer Jill Carroll on its full-time staff after her kidnapping, lobbied governments around the globe to gain her release. Though it's not clear what did the trick, "Monitor" editors say high-level U.S. officials, including FBI Director Robert Mueller, were involved, as were foreign governments. Even Arabic groups, like Hamas and Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, no friends of the U.S., pushed for release of the American journalist. The kidnapper's demand for the U.S. to release all female Iraqi prisoners was not met, but Arabic diplomacy expert Richard Schultz believes it was pressure from within the Iraqi government that finally freed Carroll.
[Richard Schultz, Fletcher School Of Diplomacy:] Yes, you have people who are elected for the new Parliament who were Sunnis who have connections to the insurgency. Well their connections to the insurgency can be avenues for trying to get someone like her released.
[Chernoff:] Carroll has told "The Monitor" the kidnappers thought she was Jewish. She convinced them she's Christian by repeating the Lord's Prayer and telling them stories from the New Testament. Still, she says, they tried to convert her to Islam. [on camera]: She also told "The Monitor," during her 82 days of captivity, she was moved a few times, was isolated in a dark room where she couldn't see outside and only once was permitted to watch television and read a newspaper. To exercise, she walked around her room, which she said was eight paces wide and she did squats. And to avoid boredom, she sang. [voice-over]: After just a few days of freedom, "The Christian Science Monitor" says Jill is not ready to speak to the general media.
[Prof. Jack Levin, Northeastern University:] It is an extremely important thing for someone who's been tortured for 82 days, psychologically, perhaps, but tortured, nonetheless, to get that kind of private time with her family and her friends to restore her psyche. It has been profoundly injured and now this is a way to give her the time to heal.
[Chernoff:] And to relive it so quickly afterwards could be traumatic again?
[Levin:] Yes. It's very possible that holding a press conference, which would be a good thing to do in terms of public relations, would actually be a horrible thing because it requires that she actually relive the terrible times that she had for those 82 days.
[Chernoff:] Jill Carroll needs time to move forward and time to enjoy her newly-found freedom. Allan Chernoff, CNN, Boston.
[Kagan:] A first for Saddam Hussein, it could mean a second trial. The former Iraqi dictator is now charged with genocide for the deaths of thousands of Kurds. The latest from CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Aneesh, how are these charges different than the ones that Saddam Hussein currently faces?
[Aneesh Raman, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, Daryn, good morning. Saddam Hussein right now is facing a trial with charges of crimes against humanity. As you said, a second indictment issued this morning by the Iraqi High Tribunal includes a charge of genocide. It centers on what took place in the late 1980s, what was dubbed the Anfal campaign, allegedly the systematic destruction of the Kurdish people in Iraq by Saddam's former regime. Conservative estimates say that well over 100,000 Kurds were killed. Anfal really is infamously defined by what happened in March 1988 in the town of Halabja where some 5,000 residents were killed after a series of chemical attacks. The court says that Halabja incident will be tried separated, but the broader Anfal campaign, they say the investigation into it is complete. They have handed over that docket to the prosecutorial arm of the court. It is unclear when this second trial could begin, which raises any number of issues, because Saddam is in the midst of a current trial. The second one, we're not told whether it has to wait until the first trial is done or whether the two trials can happen at the same time. And another issue, Daryn, is whether Saddam will even be present in court for this second trial. According to Iraqi law, at the end of the first trial, if he is found guilty, if he is sentenced to death, that death sentence must be carried out within 30 days of the appellate process ending. Now Iraq's President Jalal Talabani this morning said a deal is in the works to perhaps sideline any verdict of these trials until all of them are complete. But Saddam faces upwards of 12 trials, which means it could be a lengthy process before he faces any execution Daryn.
[Kagan:] Definitely go on for years. What about news of the day, some serious violence in Sadr City today?
[Raman:] Yes, suicide car bomb detonating there earlier today. Casualty numbers now say that at least 10 people were killed, some 28 others wounded. Sadr City of course home not just to the capital's majority Shia population but also home to one of the country's strongest Shia militia, the Mehdi Militia, those loyal to Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. They will likely be further infuriated by this attack. They have long said that if Iraq's security forces cannot protect Iraq's Shia community, they will do it. But disbanding these Shia militias is seen as a key element to bringing stability to the country. To do that though, Daryn, you need a government, which is why we heard very strong, blunt statements from Secretary Rice in Iraq just days ago saying that a unity government must form now given all the issues at hand Daryn.
[Kagan:] Aneesh Raman live from Baghdad. Aneesh, thank you We're going to focus just ahead, 17 minutes past the hour, on some sports news here in the U.S. A jab at Barry Bonds. One fan makes a point about steroids. Wait until you see what he threw what the fan threw at Barry Bonds. Details when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.