Lawyers cite lack of
security after two killed
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's trial will resume
on schedule despite the slaying of two defense
lawyers and the threat by others to boycott the
proceedings over an alleged lack of security, a
senior Iraqi judicial official said Sunday.
The court is ready to appoint a new team if defense
lawyers fail to appear, added Raid Juhi, one of the
judges on the special tribunal trying the former
dictator and others.
Saddam's team said in a statement earlier in the day
that about 1,100 Iraqi lawyers had withdrawn from
the defense, arguing that inadequate protection was
evident after the killings of two attorneys who were
defending co-defendants of the ousted leader. |
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP
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The
statement did not say if those lawyers included
Saddam's chief Iraqi attorney, Khalil al-Dulaimi,
but it said other team members continued their
duties "under complex and dangerous circumstances."
Al-Dulaimi suggested last week that defense lawyers
would not show up for the next session Nov. 28.
The attorneys who withdrew were among some 1,500
enlisted to help Saddam's defense, mostly
researching legal precedents, preparing briefs and
performing other tasks outside the courtroom, said
Jordanian lawyer Ziad al-Khasawneh, who was once
part of the defense team.
Juhi said the defense threat "will not affect the
work of the court." He said the Iraqi High Tribunal
is ready to appoint new defense lawyers if none
appear. That could result in further delays, Juhi
conceded, saying replacements could ask the court to
postpone the trial.
Still, the defense moves could leave the proceedings
in disarray, embarrassing both the Iraqi government
and the United States, which have insisted that
Saddam face justice in his homeland .
If the court appoints new attorneys, Saddam will
refuse to accept them and the trial will degenerate
into "a total farce," said Abdel-Haq Alani, a
London-based lawyer and leading member of the
defense team.
Saddam and seven others went on trial Oct. 19 in the
killing of 148 Shiite Muslims who were executed in
1982 after a failed assassination attempt. If
convicted, they could be executed by hanging.
In other developments Sunday:
Sunni Arab politicians stepped up demands for an end
to U.S. and Iraqi military operations, claiming they
threaten Sunni participation in next month's
elections - a key U.S. goal.
U.S. commanders have said offensives, especially
those in the western province of Anbar near the
Syrian border, are aimed at encouraging Sunni Arabs
to vote in the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections
without fear of intimidation by insurgents.
The U.S. command said two Marines were killed the
day before by a bomb west of Baghdad and an American
soldier died in a vehicle accident in western Iraq.
The latest deaths brought to at least 2,065 the
number of U.S. military personnel who have died
since the war began in 2003, according to an
Associated Press count.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani predicted in an
interview televised Sunday in London that the 8,500
British soldiers could be gone by the end of 2006 -
although he was not speaking for the government.
AP
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