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Defence teams says Saddam attacked; U.S.
denies it
30.7.2005
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AMMAN, July 30,
(Reuters) - Lawyers for Saddam Hussein said on
Saturday their client was attacked by an
unidentified man during a court appearance in
Baghdad this week, but U.S. forces guarding him
denied any such incident took place.
A statement issued by Saddam's legal team, which has
an office in Amman, Jordan, said the former
president was attacked and exchanged blows with
another person during a hearing attended by his main
lawyer, Khalil Dulaimi, on Thursday. |
Former dictator
Saddam Hussein
Photo : AP |
"As the president
(Saddam) stood to leave the courtroom one of those
present attacked him and there was an exchange of
blows between the man and the president," the
statement said, adding that the head of the tribunal
did nothing to stop the assault.
It did not say if Saddam was hurt.
However, a spokeswoman for detainee operations in
Iraq, the U.S. military unit charged with overseeing
the custody of prisoners including Saddam, said no
such incident took place.
"Nothing like that happened with Saddam whatsoever,"
Lieutenant Kristy Miller said.
The U.S. military is in charge of Saddam's physical
custody, although he is in Iraqi legal custody.
Miller said that as far as she knew Saddam almost
never leaves U.S. military sight.
Officials at the Iraqi Special Tribunal, the court
set up to try the former president and other senior
members of his now- defunct Baath Party, were not
reachable for comment.
Because of the alleged incident, the defence team
said it would boycott the tribunal or any committee
interrogating Saddam until he was given the right to
proper legal representation by a team of
international lawyers.
AUTHORITY OF THE COURT
The team, retained by Saddam's family, said it held
the U.S. military responsible for any harm to the
former Iraqi leader and demanded safeguards for his
protection.
The statement said the legal team refused "to
recognise the authority of the court and all the
bodies that were interrogating Saddam as it had no
legal authority".
An official in Baghdad who is familiar with the
workings of the tribunal also denied that any
scuffle took place between Saddam and another
individual. He suggested it may be a defence team
tactic.
"If I was a defence lawyer for Saddam, I'd try every
trick I could," he said.
The tribunal on Friday released pictures of Saddam
being questioned over the suppression of Shi'ite
Muslims after a 1991 uprising, when his regime is
accused of killing up to 150,000 people.
So far, Saddam has been formally charged in only one
case -- the killing of Shi'ite Muslims in the
village of Dujail following a failed assassination
attempt in 1982. A date for that trial is expected
to be set soon.
Saddam's defence team has complained that he has had
no access to international lawyers and says Saddam
is sometimes called to hearings at a moment's
notice, in violation of rules.
The tribunal denies Saddam has been denied any
rights.
Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney general and one
of the lawyers signed up to represent Saddam, said
in a statement that Saddam's rights were being
violated.
"Continued interrogations or trial under these
circumstances is a serious violation of standards of
security of person and fair trial that are shared by
almost every country in the world," he said.
Reuters
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