LONDON, Sept 12
(Reuters) - Saddam Hussein's new defence lawyers
plan to prove he has been denied his legal rights
when they defend him at a "show trial" next month,
according to the lawyer assembling the team.
Iraqi officials have said the former Iraqi president
will go on trial on Oct. 19, but London-based
barrister Abdel Haq Alani told Reuters on Sunday the
U.S.-backed court had not even told him the trial
date or the charges against him.
"We can prove in court that there has never been a
due process of law. This is what is going to
embarrass the Americans," said Alani, who was hired
by Saddam's eldest daughter Raghd. |
Former dictator
Saddam Hussein
Photo : AP
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"We have
not had any charge laid formally against the accused
nor have we had any evidence as to what the elements
are of the charge. There has not been a single
document served to the defence on the charges, not
any shred of evidence, nothing."
Alani said the defence strategy will focus on
undermining the legitimacy of the court, by showing
that the judges are not impartial and that Saddam
has already been subject to legal bias, including
failure to allow his lawyers to examine the
supporting evidence of the prosecution.
"The man has been denied legal access, he has not
been given enough legal advice or told of his
rights, and he can't see the lawyer of his choice.
That is not how it works," said Alani.
Independent legal scholars and human rights
organisations have called for an international trial
for Saddam, saying that Iraqi leaders have already
pronounced him guilty and he may not receive a fair
trial.
They say the tribunal is funded by the United
States, its members were appointed by the now
defunct U.S. occupation authority, and U.S. lawyers
and officials still work with the prosecution and
help gather evidence.
SHOW TRIAL
"If the trial is held on Oct. 19, the Americans will
have a difficult time convincing anyone that this is
a fair and just trial when no proper procedure has
been followed. It would be a show trial," Alani
said.
Saddam, who has been held by U.S. forces since they
captured him in 2003, sacked his defence team last
month to bring in a more professional group.
Alani, who has been meeting the new lawyers in
London, said the names of the new team will be
presented to Saddam for approval next week.
Saddam, a Sunni Arab, was Iraq's strongman from
1968, when the Baath Party took power in a coup, to
2003 when the U.S.-led invasion removed him from
power.
Thousands of Iraqis were killed under his rule,
including Kurdish civilians attacked with gas in the
Kurdish village of Halabja in 1988. Some Iraqi
officials said at the time that the attack was aimed
at Iranian troops who had occupied the area and
militant Islamist Kurds they backed.
Iraqi officials say the only charge levelled against
Saddam so far is the killing of 143 men in the
mostly Shi'ite village of Dujail after a failed
assassination attempt against Saddam in the village
in 1982.
Officials and village elders in Dujail, interviewed
by Reuters, said Iraqi forces led by Saddam's
half-brother Sabawi stormed the village after the
assassination attempt and arrested scores of
suspects, many of whom later disappeared after being
transferred to a jail near the Saudi border.
Investigating judges have also probed the crushing
by government forces of Shi'ite and Kurdish revolts.
Alani said he had seen no evidence that Saddam had
ordered any killings.
"The Iraqi government wants to speed up the trial
but the United States knows they are not ready."
Alani said. "The Americans may want to show that
this is a fair and just trial, which could work to
our advantage."
Reuters
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