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Tariq Aziz testifies before special war
crimes tribunal in Iraq
22.6.2005
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BAGHDAD (AP) - Tariq Aziz, Iraq's foreign
minister under Saddam Hussein, was questioned
Tuesday about his alleged role in mass killings
prior to the regime's ouster, his lawyer said.
The four-hour questioning session by a special war
crimes tribunal focused on the 1987-88 Anfal
campaign, a depopulation scheme in which hundreds of
thousands of Kurds were killed or expelled from
northern Iraq on Saddam's orders, said Badee Izzat
Aref, Aziz's lawyer.
"He denied all the charges and he was very calm and
told them that there was no evidence for these
accusations," Aref said. The lawyer's comments broke
a gag order he had signed earlier with the Iraqi
Special Tribunal, but he called the order an
"illegal request" and said he planned to challenge
it.
Aziz, 69, referred to Saddam as "president" and
"leader Saddam Hussein" during his testimony, Aref
said, adding that the panel also called in Saddam's
former vice president, Taha Yasin Ramadan, moments
before Aziz entered. Ramadan refused to answer
questions because his lawyer was not present, Aref
said.
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Tariq Aziz - Photo from
2004
Photo : AP
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The pretrial hearing took place at a U.S. military
detention complex near Baghdad airport where Aziz is
in U.S. custody, Aref said. He said he spoke with
his client over tea beforehand and brought him
cigarettes. "For the first time, U.S. troops gave
Aziz permission to take them," he said.
Aziz, the only Christian in the top Baath Party
leadership, was allegedly involved in several party
purges in the 1970s and 80s during which an
unspecified number of people died.
He is at least the fourth person, including Saddam
himself, to provide testimony in recent weeks to the
Iraqi Special Tribunal investigating war crimes
during the former dictator's regime.
The tribunal has released a total of three
videotapes showing the ousted dictator and two
others giving testimony and signing statements
before the panel. All the videos lacked audio.
In Belgium, Iraq's Justice Minister Abdel Hussein
Shandal accused the United States of trying to delay
Iraqi efforts to interrogate Saddam, saying "it
seems there are lots of secrets they want to hide."
But he said he was confident investigators would
wrap up the case against Saddam by the end of the
year, underlining the Iraqi government's
determination to try the ousted leader soon.
The Americans privately have urged caution about
rushing into a trial, saying Iraq must develop a
good court and judicial system — one of the main
topics of discussion at an Iraq conference being
held in Brussels, Belgium.
U.S. officials say Iraqis will decide on Saddam's
trial, but there are concerns that a trial now could
interfere with the key process of writing a
constitution and inflame sectarian tension. The
Iraqi government must finish a draft by mid-August
so they can hold a referendum on the charter ahead
of December elections for a full-term government.
AP
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