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Saddam Hussein's legal
team today said it had witnesses willing to testify
the fallen dictator's regime was not responsible for
gassing thousands of Kurds in the northern Iraqi
town of Halabja in 1988.
The claim, made by Saddam's chief lawyer Ziad al-Khasawneh,
relates to one of the main charges against Iraq's
deposed president, who is in US military custody
along with 11 former lieutenants awaiting trial
before a special Iraqi tribunal.
Saddam was arraigned in July on several counts,
including gassing Kurds, killing rival politicians,
invading Kuwait in 1990 and suppressing Kurdish and
Shi'ite uprisings in 1991.
His defence team has not previously claimed to have
witnesses to testify on his behalf. It has, however,
said it has documents supporting its case that
Iraq's army never possessed the chemicals used to
kill about 5,000 people in the Kurdish city of
Halabja on March 16, 1988.
Witnesses "are ready and willing to appear before
the Iraqi court to testify that the regime of
President Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the
chemical attack on the Kurdish population," al-Khasawneh
claimed without identifying those willing to
testify.
"Those witnesses cannot be challenged in terms of
the weight of their testimonies, their persons,
positions and connection to the event."
Al-Khasawneh said the legal team had heard from
unspecified "media" outlets that the Iraqi tribunal
had dropped the Halabja charge against Saddam and
his top lieutenants.
But Salah Rashid, human rights minister in Iraq's
northern Kurdistan, dismissed the claim.
"Concerning statements made by lawyer of the former
regime officials, they are only trying to make more
money," he said. "We gave them (court) some of our
documents concerning Halabja and we have evidence
and witnesses and the court should listen to them."
Saddam's trial has not started, but questioning of
his 11 key lieutenants - including Ali Hassan al-Majid,
also known as "Chemical Ali" - is underway. Al-Majid
is accused of ordering the Halabja chemical attack.
The tribunal has accused Saddam and his aides of
responsibility in the 1987-88 Al-Anfal campaign
against Kurds that included Saddam's depopulation
scheme that killed or expelled hundreds of thousands
of Kurds from northern Iraq.
"There is a collective concern that the aggression
on Iraq will be repeated on any country, where its
leaders would be kidnapped and its laws would be
changed," said in a letter signed by al-Khasawneh.
AP
http://www.theage.com.au
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