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Iraq set for Saddam Hussein trial
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein's lawyers contest the legitimacy of the court
Saddam Hussein is going on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity.

The former Iraqi leader will be led into court on Wednesday with seven associates, charged with ordering the killing of 143 Shia men in 1982.

His lawyer Khalil Dulaimi said the trial was illegitimate and he would ask for an adjournment, but said Saddam Hussein was still "very optimistic".

The case will be heard in a specially built courtroom in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone.

It will be filmed by TV cameras.

The ex-leader's followers have called for attacks to mark the trial's start.

An internet statement attributed to the Baath party urged supporters to "salute the leader... by firing bullets and mortars of death at the occupier".

Mr Dulaimi told the Associated Press on Tuesday evening: "I have just left him [Saddam] five minutes ago. His morale is very, very, very high and he is very optimistic and confident of his innocence, although the court is... unjust."


Hundreds of people were arrested, some were executed
Charge sheet against Saddam,
Iraqi Special Tribunal

The lawyer said that when the trial opened he would ask the court for an adjournment of at least three months, to allow him more time to prepare the defence case.

Court officials say that after legal argument an adjournment is likely to be granted, though it is not clear for how long.

Secrecy

The trial is presided over by five judges, whose identities and backgrounds have been kept secret.

A small number of observers and journalists will be in the televised courtroom, but the public will be excluded.

The case is the first of many expected to be brought against the former Iraqi leader.

The dock in the Baghdad courtroom for the trial of Saddam Hussein
Saddam will be led to the dock amid high security

It concerns the rounding up and execution of 143 men in Dujail, a Shia village north of Baghdad, following an attempt there on Saddam Hussein's life.

Court officials say the case was chosen because it was the easiest and quickest case to compile.

The charge carries the death penalty, though Saddam Hussein and his associates have the right to appeal if they are found guilty.

Prosecution lawyers are also expected to bring charges concerning the gassing of 5,000 people in the Kurdish village of Halabja in March 1988, and the suppression of a Shia revolt following the first Gulf War.


SADDAM IN CUSTODY
13 December 2003 Saddam captured by US forces
20 April 2004 Tribunal set up to try Saddam
1 July 2004 Saddam appears before judge for first time
20 May 2005 Photos of Saddam in his underpants appear in a British newspaper
30 July 2005 Saddam's lawyers allege he has been assaulted by a man after leaving a legal hearing



Iran said on Tuesday it had asked the court to charge the former Iraqi leader over the use of chemical weapons in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Saddam Hussein's lawyers are expected to challenge the court's right to conduct the trial.

"We will dispute the legitimacy of the court as we've been doing every day. We will claim it is unconstitutional and not competent to try the legitimate president of Iraq," Mr Dulaimi said.


Human rights groups, too, have expressed concerns.

A Human Rights Watch report says the Iraqi Special Tribunal "runs the risk of violating international standards for fair trials".


HAVE YOUR SAY
As a rule of justice and fairness, Saddam Hussein should be granted a fair trial
Arthur Yap, Singapore



Amnesty International said it was sending three delegates to Baghdad to ensure Saddam Hussein received a fair trial, and to oppose the death penalty if he is found guilty.

But the United States said it expected the trial - the first time an Arab leader has been tried for crimes against his own people - to meet "basic international standards". BBC

In my opinion the man is now so seriously mentally ill he neither understands where he is or comprehends who he was or the fact he is no longer in power.

Like the Nazi war criminal trials after the war this trial is more about politics then bringing an evil twisted human being to rights for the evils he has committed.

As a believer. I know thou that he will be dealt with in the next life.

Defiant Saddam pleads not guilty


Saddam Hussein's trial has begun in Baghdad with the ousted Iraqi leader defiantly questioning the validity of the court before pleading not guilty.

He refused to confirm his identity telling the presiding judge: "Who are you? What does this court want?"

All eight defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of ordering the killing of 143 Shia men in 1982. If convicted, they could face the death penalty.

After just over three hours, the trial was adjourned until 28 November.

Scuffle

The trial began in an imposing marble building that once served as the National Command Headquarters of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, in the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital.


I preserve my constitutional rights as the president of Iraq
Saddam Hussein

Saddam spars with judge


TV pictures showed Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants being led into pens in the courtroom.

The 68-year-old former leader was wearing a dark suit with an open-necked shirt and carried a copy of the Koran.

As he was being led in by two guards, he gestured with his hand to slow them down.

Asked to confirm his name by chief judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, a Kurd, Saddam Hussein refused.

"Have you ever been a judge before?" Saddam said.


The long-awaited trial of Saddam Hussein begins nearly two years after his capture.



Amid some verbal sparring with the judge, the former Iraqi leader stated: "I preserve my constitutional rights as the president of Iraq. I do not recognise the body that has authorised you and I don't recognise this aggression.

"What is based on injustice is unjust ... I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect."

Later, as the trial adjourned, he was involved in what appeared to be a scuffle with the guards who wanted to grab his arms to escort his out.

But this appeared to be for the benefit of the media, reports the BBC's John Simpson from inside the courtroom.

The case concerns the rounding up and execution of 143 men in Dujail, a Shia village north of Baghdad, following an attempt there on Saddam Hussein's life.

Saddam Hussein's co-accused are Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, his half-brother who was his intelligence chief; former Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan; Awad Hamed al-Bandar, a former chief judge; and Dujail Baath party officials Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid, Ali Daeem Ali, Mohammed Azawi Ali and Mizher Abdullah Rawed.

Some of the co-accused were equally defiant when questioned by the judge.

More charges?

The trial is being presided over by five judges, with Mr Amin in overall charge. The identities of judges had been kept secret to ensure their safety, but Mr Amin's name was revealed by US officials just before the trial began.


SADDAM'S CO-ACCUSED
Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former intelligence chief
Taha Yassin Ramadan, former vice-president
Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge
Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid, Dujail Baath party official
Ali Daeem Ali, Dujail Baath party official
Mohammed Azawi Ali, Dujail Baath party official
Mizher Abdullah Rawed, Dujail Baath party official


A small number of observers and journalists were allowed in the courtroom, but the public has been excluded.

The case is the first of many expected to be brought against the former Iraqi leader.

Court officials say the case was chosen because it was the easiest and quickest case to compile.

Prosecution lawyers are also expected to bring charges concerning the gassing of 5,000 people in the Kurdish village of Halabja in March 1988, and the suppression of a Shia revolt following the first Gulf War.

Rights concerns

Human rights groups have expressed concerns about the trial.

A Human Rights Watch report says the Iraqi Special Tribunal "runs the risk of violating international standards for fair trials".

Amnesty International has sent three delegates to Baghdad to ensure Saddam Hussein receives a fair trial, and to oppose the death penalty if he is found guilty.

Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003 after the American-led invasion of Iraq.

Before the trial opened, two mortars landed in the Green Zone, without causing casualties or damage. BBC

Saddam witnesses afraid to turn up


The trial of Saddam Hussein has been adjourned for more than a month after the judge trying the case said many witnesses had been too afraid to turn up.

Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin said around 30 or 40 witnesses had not come to Baghdad for the trial, which took place in a heavily defended building inside the city's fortress- like Green Zone compound.

"The main reason is the witnesses did not show up," Amin said. "They were too scared to be public witnesses. We're going to work on this issue for the next sessions." BBC

Oct 20, 2005 — By Michael Georgy and Mariam Karouny

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A lawyer for one of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants was kidnapped from his home on Thursday, a day after he sat in the dock next to the former president on the opening day of their trial for crimes against humanity.

His client is former judge Jawad al-Bander, a senior legal source involved in the trial told Reuters.

"Saadoun Janabi was kidnapped this evening around 8.30 p.m. (1730 GMT) from his office, which is also his home, in the Shaab district by eight armed men," the source said.

Police and Interior Ministry sources confirmed the kidnapping. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Eight men arrived in two cars and forced Janabi from his upper-storey office at gunpoint, the police sources said.

Bander is a former top judge under Saddam who is charged, along with Saddam and six others, over the killings and executions of Shi'ite men from the village of Dujail after Saddam escaped an assassination attempt there in 1982.

As Janabi was being taken, Irish journalist Rory Carroll was freed, a day after he was seized while reporting on a Baghdad Shi'ite family watching the televised start of Saddam's trial.

"I don't know who took me," Carroll told Reuters. "I'm fine. I was treated reasonably well," he said, adding he wanted to go on reporting on Iraq, though his immediate plans were unclear.

"I spent the last 36 hours in the dark," he said.

Iraq's powerful Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi was present when he was released, Carroll added.

Saddam and seven others went on trial on Wednesday on charges of crimes against humanity connected to the killing of 148 Shi'ites from the village of Dujail in the 1980s.

The defendants won a 40-day adjournment to November 28 to hone their defense after they all pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.


Full Story from ABC News

Saddam trial lawyer is found dead

Mr Janabi's identity had not been kept secret
A lawyer who was defending an associate of Saddam Hussein has been found dead after being abducted in Baghdad.

Sadoun Nasouaf al-Janabi had been shot in the head and chest. His body was dumped on Thursday night, soon after he was seized, and identified a day later.

The Iraqi government condemned the killing, which is seen as indicative of the difficulties the trial may face.

The trial was adjourned after opening on Wednesday, but will hear testimony at the weekend from a sick witness.

Wadah Ismail al-Sheik, who was a top intelligence official under Saddam Hussein, will testify from his hospital bed on Sunday. He has cancer.



Mr Janabi was acting for one of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants, Awad Hamed al-Bandar, a former top judge.

His body was found outside the city's Firdous Mosque shortly after he was abducted on Thursday evening.

The lawyers' union warned that the killing would have serious repercussions for Iraqi justice.

"This will hinder lawyers from defending those held for political reasons," Diaa al-Saadi, an official from the union, said.

There was tight security at the court as the trial of Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants opened on Wednesday.

Four of the five judges and most of the prosecution lawyers have remained anonymous for safety reasons.

The names of the chief judge and the top prosecutor were the only ones revealed.

The defence team's identities were not kept secret, and Saddam Hussein's top lawyer, Khalil Dulaimi, said many had been threatened.

The government has now offered protection to any defence lawyer who wants it.

Saddam Hussein's trial was adjourned until 28 November after opening on Wednesday. BBC