Saddam trial adjourned to resolve defence boycott
Two defendants in the Baghdad trial of Saddam Hussein made their closing arguments today, but the judge then adjourned for nearly two weeks in an attempt to resolve a boycott of the court by the former Iraqi leader and his lawyers.
Chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman said the court would resume on July 24 and warned that if the lawyers did not agree to return by that time, court-appointed lawyers would make the final arguments for Saddam and three other top defendants in the case.
“The absence of the original lawyers to defend the defendant will harm the case of his client,” Abdel-Rahman said, then added, addressing the lawyers who were present: “Tell your colleagues … that court-appointed lawyers will present the closing argument in case they do not attend.”
Lawyers for Saddam, Barzan Ibrahim, Taha Yassin Ramadan and Awad al-Bandar yesterday announced they were boycotting the final phase of the trial unless demands were met, including greater security after the killing of one of their colleagues last month.
Saddam also said he was boycotting, denouncing the court as unfair and a tool of the Americans.
In the meantime, the court this week heard the final arguments of four lower-level defendants in the case, including Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid and his son Mizhar.
The eight defendants are charged with crimes against humanity for a crackdown against Shiites in the town of Dujail launched after a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam. They are accused of arresting hundreds of people, torturing women and children and killing 148 people sentenced to death for the attack on the former Iraqi leader.
After the defence arguments, the court will adjourn for the judges to consider their verdicts. The eight face possible execution by hanging if convicted, though they have the chance of appeal.
Court officials have said they expect verdicts to be issued before a second trial of Saddam begins on August 21. In that trial, Saddam and six other former members of his regime face charges of for the Anfal Campaign in the 1980s that killed an estimated 100,000 Kurds and saw thousands of Kurdish villages razed.
But al-Nueimi warned that no defence lawyers would come forward for the Anfal case, given the murders during the first trial. “Nobody will participate. It would be crazy,” he said.
