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Thursday, February 2, 2006. 9:41pm (AEDT)

The trial of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his former cohorts on charges of crimes against humanity was adjourned to February 13 after all defendants boycotted today's hearing.

The absence of the Saddam and his seven co-accused was the latest setback to mar the unruly trial since it opened in a blaze of publicity in October, almost two years after the capture of the ousted president.

"Because of the persistence of Saddam Hussein, Barzan al-Tikriti, Taha Yassin Ramadan and Awad al-Bandar not to attend, the court has decided not to call them for this session and to review their opposition," said chief judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel Rahman at the opening of the hearing.

He said he decided to start the hearing without the other four accused who were behaving "in a chaotic manner" outside the courtroom prior to the session - leaving three rows of empty black seats in the dock.

Saddam and his co-accused are charged with torture and murder over the massacre of more than 140 Shiites from the village of Dujail in the 1980s. If convicted they face the death penalty.

After barely an a hour and a half, the judge adjourned the case until February 13 following testimony from two witnesses. It was only the 10th hearing since the case opened.

ABC.Net.au

Always mock a demon

(Reuters)
6 February 2006

BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein may be forced to appear in court when his trial resumes next week, the chief prosecutor said on Monday, expressing frustration at the former leader’s persistent boycotting of proceedings.

Ja’afar Moussawi also confirmed that Saddam’s defence team had been barred from visiting him and seven co-accused in jail, saying the lawyers had lost that right when they stormed out of court last week after clashing with the chief judge.

Saddam’s chief counsel, Khalil Dulaimi, said on Sunday the team had been prevented from seeing their client and accused the court of being interested only in Saddam’s speedy conviction.

Saddam and some of his former top aides have not attended the last two court sessions, having followed the lead of their defence counsel who walked out of court on Jan. 29. Three minor Baath party officials were barred from the last session for ”causing chaos” outside the courtroom.

The trial has been beset by delays, postponements and courtroom chaos since it began in October.

The lawyers staged the walkout after a tough new chief judge, Raouf Abdel Rahman, ejected a member of their team and one of the defendants for refusing to be quiet.

Moussawi said the court would “take the appropriate action” if there was another no-show when the trial resumes on Feb. 13.

Asked if forcing Saddam to attend was an option, he said: ”Yes, this can be done under Iraqi law”. But he did not specify whether that might mean physically dragging him into court.

Moussawi said if the defence team wanted to visit Saddam and his co-defendants they would have to apply through the court.

“The defence team has withdrawn. If they wanted to see their clients, why did they withdraw from the court?” he asked.

The defence has called for judge Abdel Rahman to step down, accusing him of bias against their clients, who are charged with the killing of 148 men from the Shi’ite town of Dujail after a bid to assassinate Saddam there in 1982.

“Preventing the visits is illegal and prevents the president from having a fair trial,” Dulaimi said on Sunday.

“We will not desert our clients and insist on our right to defend our clients but not to recognise any lawyer appointed by the court,” he said, adding that Saddam had refused to meet court-appointed lawyers.

Abdel Rahman has taken a no-nonsense approach in his handling of Saddam, after his predecessor resigned amid accusations that he had been too lenient on the former Iraqi leader, allowing him to make lengthy tirades.

As well as delays, the trial has been marred by the murder of two defence counsel, the resignation of chief judge Rizgar Amin, who complained of government interference, and the replacement of his deputy after he was accused of belonging to Saddam’s ousted Baath party.

ISRAEL 'IS MISSING' SADDAM

ISRAEL might be better off if Saddam Hussein was still in power in Iraq, according to their security chief Yuval Diskin.

He is said to have made the comment to students in a hard-line Jewish settlement in the West Bank.

The TV station Channel 10 claims Mr Diskin said: "Sometimes when you dismantle a system, in which a tyrant controls his people by force and it breaks into pieces and generates chaos, you get a situation like in Iraq.

"Is the situation better in Iraq today compared to what it was before?

"From the Israeli point of view, we could come around to missing Saddam."

Diskin was reflecting concern that an unstable post-Saddam Iraq could include a powerful militant Shia Muslim faction that could launch terror attacks against Israel. Mirror

Saddam On Hunger Strike


Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will go on hunger strike to protest against the "illegality" of his trial, his lawyers have said.

According to Reuters news agency, the deposed leader and his seven co-defendants will begin the protest tomorrow.

Khamis al Aubeidi, a leading member of Saddam's defence team, said: "Saddam and his followers will start a hunger strike from tomorrow, protesting the illegitimate procedures and bad treatment by the court."

The eight men will refuse food in protest against "being forced to attend the trial while being prisoners of war and also over the illegitimacy of the court".

The decision to protest comes after Saddam, who is on trial for human rights abuses and war crimes, was told he could be forced to attend court when proceedings resume this week.

He has refused to enter court after the appointment of a new chief judge.

And his lawyers staged a walk-out after judge Raouf Abdel Rahman ejected one of their team.

Saddam and his co-accused face charges over their alleged roles int he 1982 massacre of 143 Shi'ites in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.
Sky

Feb 12, 2006 — By Ahmed Rasheed
ABCNews

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The troubled trial of Saddam Hussein was hit by fresh confusion on Sunday when his chief defense lawyer said the former Iraqi leader planned to go on hunger strike, but then retracted his statement minutes later.

Chief defense counsel Khalil Dulaimi and his deputy Khamis al-Aubeidi had said Saddam and his seven co-accused would start refusing food when their trial resumed on Monday to protest against the legitimacy of the U.S.-backed court trying them.

Shortly afterwards, however, Dulaimi conceded that his information was wrong.

"We have now checked and it seems almost certain that the president no longer plans a hunger strike at least tomorrow as we thought earlier … though some of his colleagues may," he told Reuters in Amman.

"The idea was being discussed, but we now have conclusive information the hunger strike is not on Monday."

Saddam and some of his former top aides have not attended the last two court sessions, having followed the lead of their defense counsel, who walked out of court on January 29. Three minor Baath party officials were then barred from the last session on February 2 for "causing chaos" outside the courtroom.

A source in the Iraqi High Tribunal said Saddam and his associates would be forced to attend Monday's session of the trial, which has been beset by delays, postponements and courtroom chaos since it began in October.

"This time we'll bring them by force to the courtroom," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "You will see Saddam and his followers sitting in the dock on Monday."

Saddam's defense team, led by Dulaimi, walked out of the court after new chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman ejected a member of the team and one of the defendants for refusing to be quiet.

Abdel Rahman, who took charge of the trial on January 29, then appointed lawyers from the Tribunal's Defense Office to represent Saddam and his co-accused, although the accused have rejected them.

Dulaimi's team has refused to return to court until certain demands are met, including the removal of the chief judge, whom they accuse of bias.

Saddam and his co-accused are charged with the killing of 148 men from the Shi'ite town of Dujail in reprisal for a bid to assassinate Saddam there in 1982.

Saddam: 'Down With Bush'


Saddam Hussein made a defiant start to the latest day of his trial in Baghdad having earlier threatened to boycott proceedings.

He entered the courtroom shouting 'Down with Bush'.

The former Iraqi dictator had refused to attend previous sessions in protest at the new judge appointed to preside over the trial.

He and his fellow defendants had also refused to co-operate with court-appointed lawyers after their own team walked out in protest.

Saddam complained to the court that he had been forced to attend the latest proceedings.

He shouted: "Down with the agents. Down with Bush. Long live the nation," as he entered.

He looked haggard and wore a blue galabeya - a traditional Arab robe -and a black jacket, a contrast to the tailored black suits he has worn to past sesssions.

Fellow defendant Barzan Ibrahim scuffled with guards and shouted angrily when he was brought in and then sat on the floor with his back to the judge.


Raouf Abdel-Rahman was appointed as judge in place of Rizgar Amin and has adopted a more hardline approach to the defendants.

The defence claims Mr Abdel-Rahman is unfit to try the case because he was sentenced to life in absentia in the 1970s for anti-state activity

Saddam and his seven co-accused face charges over their alleged role in the 1982 massacre of 143 Shi'ites north of Baghdad and have all pleaded not guilty.

When proceedings started, former Saddam aide Ahmed Hussein Khudayer al-Samarrai was called as a witness.

Prosecutors are trying to show a direct link between Saddam and the events in the town of Dujail.

But Mr al Samarrai said he could not remember anything and told the court: "I am not fit to be a witness in this case," bringing a smile from Saddam.

He also claimed he had been forced to appear at the trial, as did Hassan al-Obeidi, a former intelligence director.

After three hours, the trial was adjourned until Tuesday. Sky

The Times February 14, 2006
From Anthony Loyd in Baghdad

-----------------------------------------

SADDAM HUSSEIN said that he was being forced to appear at his own trial yesterday as he and seven co-defendants reappeared in court after boycotting the last two sessions.

Abandoned by his defence team, who are protesting at the alleged bias of the judge, a Kurd, Saddam and his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti were in full attack mode, belittling the judge and railing against the legal process.

“You don’t have the right to sit on that chair because you are ignorant of the law,” Saddam told Judge Raouf Abdel Rahman, slamming his fist on the railing of his metal pen. “This is not a court, this is a game.”

Its a sad situation. Old guy...going utterly nuts in front of the world.
but then...he gassed a hundred thousand or so of his own population.

He'll be found guilty...the only issue is how they'll kill him. Firing squad I guess.

Calrissian: does not knit.

Saddam admits link to killings of Shia villagers




Saddam Hussein admitted yesterday that he ordered the trial of Shia villagers who were executed, and decreed the destruction of their farmlands, following an assassination attempt against him in Dujail in 1982.

The former Iraqi dictator insisted his actions as the then Iraqi president did not constitute a crime, but it was the first time he had acknowledged a direct personal link to the events in Dujail. "It is the first time that the defendant has appeared to recognise that he needs to engage and defend himself, instead of shouting slogans," said one legal source close to the special court, describing the development as "significant".

The intervention came as the chief judge, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, was about to wrap up the day's session. A largely subdued Saddam, in court for a second consecutive day, asked permission to speak. "Where is the crime?" Saddam said during a 15-minute address. "Is referring a defendant who opened fire at a head of state, no matter what his name is, a crime?"

The ousted president and seven co-defendants are accused of crimes against humanity, involving the arrest, torture and execution of Shia residents in Dujail in 1982. After an attack on his convoy as it passed through the mainly Shia town on July 8 of that year, the then president also seized and flattened local farms. "I razed them," Saddam admitted yesterday. "We specified the farmland of those who were convicted and I signed it because the incident happened against me."

Saddam also called for the release of his co-defendants, who include his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti, saying that they were merely obeying his orders. "A head of state is here. Try him and let the others go their way," he said. Proceedings were adjourned until March 12.

In Washington the Bush administration came under fire yesterday for ignoring warnings from US intelligence agencies as far back as three years ago that the insurgency was deep-rooted, resilient and could lead to civil war.

Wayne White, who coordinated Iraq intelligence for the state department until last year, said he helped put together a National Intelligence Estimate in 2003 warning that "prospects for tamping down the insurgency were unexpectedly grim". Mr White wrote that "the senior official chairing the meeting looked around at his fellow intelligence analysts and exclaimed rhetorically, 'How can I take this upstairs'?" to then-CIA director George Tenet. He argued the resistance to bad news in the White House led to the "temptation among subordinates within the intelligence community to engage in self-censorship".

A series of bomb attacks in the capital killed at least 26 civilians yesterday, and four people died when mortar rounds slammed into their homes in Baghdad and a nearby town. Shoppers at a morning market in a mainly Shia neighbourhood in south-east Baghdad were hit by a car bomb that killed at least 23 people. Earlier a police convoy was the target of a bomb under a car. The police were unhurt but three civilians died and 15 were injured. guardian

The judge at Saddam Hussein's war crimes trial closes the proceeding to the media after the former Iraqi president delivers political messages -- including a call for Iraqis to join together and fight the occupying forces.

CNN

Saddam denounces 'comedy' court

Saddam Hussein says he is still the leader of Iraq
Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has begun his first formal defence at his trial for crimes against humanity by describing the court as a "comedy".

The judge closed the hearing to the public after Saddam Hussein called on the Iraqi people to "resist invaders".

Saddam Hussein and seven co-accused are being prosecuted over the deaths of 148 people in the Shia village of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt.

Earlier, his former spy chief denied any involvement in the deaths.

Saddam Hussein appeared in court wearing a dark suit, without a tie.

'Political speech'

He said he had been pained after recently hearing of "something that aims to harm our people".

"My conscience tells me that the great people of Iraq have nothing to do with these acts," he said, in an apparent reference to the bombing of a Shia shrine in Samarra that triggered a series of sectarian clashes.

When Judge Raouf Abdul Rahman chastised Saddam Hussein for using the trial as a political platform, he replied: "I am the head of state."

The judge answered: "You used to be a head of state. You are a defendant now."

Saddam Hussein continued, warning Iraqis against further sectarian attacks, saying: "You will live in darkness and rivers of blood for no reason."

He praised the insurgency as "the resistance to the American invasion".

Before closing the session to the public, Judge Abdel Rahman told Saddam Hussein: "You are being tried in a criminal case. Stop your political speech."

Saddam Hussein answered: "Had it not been for politics, I wouldn't be here."

'Forged signature'

Earlier in court, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam Hussein's half-brother and former spy chief, answered questions about the deaths in Dujail.

He said he had chided security forces for making unnecessary arrests in Dujail and had ordered many detainees to be freed.




"I shook their [the detainees'] hands and let them go," he said.

He said he had visited Dujail immediately after the attempt on Saddam Hussein's life and never again after that.

The response to the assassination attempt was handled by a government agency that was not under his control, Mr Tikriti said.

Residents of Dujail have testified in earlier sessions that Mr Tikriti personally tortured them during the security sweep that followed the assassination attempt.

Mr Tikriti was shown a document, dated 21 August 1982 and apparently signed by him, which calls for intelligence officers involved in the Dujail crackdown to be rewarded.

He denied the signature on the document was his, saying it had been forged.

Mr Tikriti argued that the execution of the villagers of Dujail was justified, as they had all taken part in the attempt on Saddam Hussein's life - at a time when the country was at war with Iran.

'US mistreatment'

The former Iraqi leader and his co-accused face the death penalty if convicted for crimes against humanity.

All deny the charges against them.

Previous trial sessions have been halted by protests from the defendants.

Mr Tikriti has in the past appeared in the court wearing long underwear to show his disdain for the US-backed trial process.

In court on Wednesday, he wore a red-chequered Arab head-dress and a long shirt.

He also alleged he had been mistreated by US forces since his capture in 2003.

His US interrogators had asked him "how Osama Bin Laden came to Iraq" and "dozens of such questions with imaginary bases and assumptions".

BBC

Hussein charged with genocide
Ex-Iraqi leader to face trial for alleged role in attack on Kurds

Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, including:
# Killing members of the group
# Causing serious bodily or mental harm
# Deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction
# Imposing measures intended to prevent births
# Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

As defined in the statutes of the Iraqi Special Tribunal in accordance with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been charged for the first time with genocide, Iraqi chief investigative judge Ra'id Juhi announced Tuesday.

Juhi said that investigators had completed their work gathering witnesses and evidence and were ready to go to trial.

Hussein and six co-defendants -- including Ali Hassan al-Majeed, a former Iraqi general known as "Chemical Ali" -- will stand trial for genocide on charges relating to the Anfal campaign against Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s.

That campaign included the gassing of 5,000 civilians in the village of Halabja in 1988, but Juhi told CNN that the incident was not included in Tuesday's charges and would be prosecuted separately.

Estimates of the number of deaths in the Anfal operation range from 50,000 to nearly 200,000.

Hussein is already on trial with seven co-defendants from his former regime on charges of crimes against humanity in Dujail, a town north of Baghdad, after a failed assassination attempt against the ex-Iraqi leader in 1982. (The charges against Saddam Hussein)

It is unclear when the Anfal trial would begin; it could start as early as next month. It is also not clear how or if the two trials would go on at the same time.

Hussein's current trial is set to resume Wednesday after a three-week recess.

The former Iraqi leader angrily testified March 15 before much of the session was closed to the media.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said Tuesday he expected the special tribunal hearing the cases would hear all of them before rendering a verdict in any.

"I believe the court is working on a plan whereby he will be tried for all the crimes then a verdict will be handed down," he said.

Hussein could face up to 20 trials on various charges, including the 1991 suppression of the Shiite uprising in southern Iraq.

[/url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/04/hussein.trial/index.html]CNN