As Saddam's day in Iraq court nears, hiccups
emerge
BAGHDAD, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Some predict it
could be the "trial of the century" but bringing
Saddam Hussein to justice has hardly gone smoothly
and may get rockier still.
In a little over a month, the ousted Iraqi dictator
is due to be tried for crimes against humanity in
connection with the deaths of 150 Shi'ite men in a
village called Dujail, just north of Baghdad,
following a failed 1982 assassination bid.
The case is being handled by Iraq's Special
Tribunal, a body set up with American help in 2003
to try members of the former government for war
crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. |
Former dictator
Saddam Hussein
Photo : AP
|
|
The script calls for Saddam and seven others to take
the stand on Oct. 19 in a specially built courtroom
inside Baghdad's heavily defended Green Zone, and
the world will watch the trial on television.
Most Iraqis say they can't wait to see their
overthrown president in court, nearly two years
after he was captured, and many hope he is
eventually put to death. If convicted, he faces
execution by hanging.
But others question the legitimacy of the tribunal
and wonder whether Saddam can get a fair hearing in
his own country. They point to signs of political
influence over the court and worry that its
independence has been compromised.
Saddam's lawyers have made clear they plan to
challenge the tribunal's legitimacy once the trial
opens, and argue that an international court, like
the one trying former Serbian leader Slobodan
Milosevic in the Netherlands, would be fairer.
They have even alleged physical abuse. In July,
Saddam's lead lawyer accused a tribunal judge of
starting a brawl with his client. Iraqi officials
and the U.S. military denied it.
Foreign advisers to Iraq's court acknowledge some
problems.
"There has been the appearance of the government
exerting influence over the court ... there have
been challenges," said a source close to the
tribunal, who asked not to be named.
"But you have to give the Iraqi people and the
tribunal a chance to surprise those who are
sceptical, and show that they value and cherish the
rule of law," he said.
The proof may come with the trial. If it is seen as
legitimate it will go a long way to silencing the
doubters, but the build-up to the event hasn't
always inspired confidence.
COMPROMISED?
The first head of the tribunal, Salem Chalabi, the
nephew of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, was
removed by the previous government last year in
murky circumstances after he was implicated and then
cleared in a finance official's death.
A 42-year-old corporate lawyer, Salem Chalabi had
been appointed by the Americans and was responsible
for selecting judges and prosecutors, while
overseeing the tribunal's work.
Under Chalabi's direction, Saddam and several
deputies briefly appeared in a makeshift courtroom
in July 2004, but no formal charges were made and
the event appeared stage-managed. At the time, the
government promised a trial by the end of the year.
That never happened as investigators struggled amid
deteriorating security conditions to gather evidence
from mass graves and other sites against Saddam and
his henchmen.
Eventually they fixed on the Dujail case because,
tribunal sources have said, it was relatively
straightforward and the clear evidence made a
conviction more likely.
The much larger crimes of which Saddam is accused,
such as ordering the killing of thousands of Kurds
with chemical weapons in the 1980s and the violent
crushing of a Shi'ite uprising in 1991, would have
to wait until more evidence was collected.
In recent months, the government has repeatedly
promised that a trial is just weeks away, raising
the hopes of Iraqis keen to see Saddam in the dock,
only for the tribunal to assert its independence and
announce that no date had been set.
Two months ago, several tribunal employees were
dismissed after they fell foul of the de-Baathification
commission, a body set up to remove members of the
former Baathist government from public office. It is
overseen by Ahmad Chalabi.
Some judges, including the one investigating Saddam,
were also threatened with removal, prompting the
Iraqi parliament to step in and rewrite the Special
Tribunal's statute to enable that judge and others
to remain in their posts.
However, the new statute under which Saddam must be
tried has yet to be published officially, so the
trial is effectively on hold. Publication is due
soon.
Even if the trial goes ahead and Saddam is
convicted, another hurdle lies in wait. Iraqi
President Jalal Talabani, a Kurdish leader who
opposes capital punishment, must sign any death
warrant. Will he sign one for his old enemy?
Reuters
Top |
® 