Defense team prevented from Saddam
Iraq, Politics, 2/15/2006

Chairman of the defense commission of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein persistently asked for arranging an appointment with his client for consultation.

This was expressed in the message to Mike Makoy who was introduced as the "American coordinator between the defense commission and the criminal court, and between all Iraqi officials including the ministry of the interior and others."

Al-Duleimi stressed that he is still attached to represent his client saying "we reiterate we will not give up our client and legal responsibility and not to boycott the court."


The defense commission stressed last week "suspension of all its activities" with the Iraqi Higher Criminal Court and described it as "illegal and illegitimate (court) and was established by the force of occupation and built on ethnic, sectarian and religious bases."

Al-Duleimi also extended another message to the chairman of the court in which he is strongly opposed having the court appoint other lawyers to defend Saddam Hussein. The message read "We do not recognize our client to be represented by others .. with our total right to defend him and not to categorically give up defending him."

Saddam Hussein said that he and his aides started hunger strike since three days. A matter which was described by judge Saad al-Hashimi as just a game in using politics and distracting the trial from of its course.

The request of the defense commission to continue defending Saddam Hussein came while judge Eaouf Rashid Abdul Rahman on Tuesday postponed the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven of his aides in al-Dajil case until February 28th. This was after an equally controversial trial session as that of Monday.

Tuesday's session was characterized by the testimony given by Hamid Youssef Hamadi, the former Iraqi minister of culture and the special secretary of the toppled president, who was shown a document dating back to July 21, 1982, some 12 days after the assassination attempt against Saddam Hussein.

The document traces, according to him, wards for 6 intelligence (Mukhabart ) men over their role in the detentions, and carried the phrase "ratified" and a signature Hammadi said "this is the writing of President Saddam."

The court also listened to a former official in the intelligence department from behind the curtains, before Barazan al-Takriti had a long controversy with him.

The brother for the Iraqi President (al-Takriti) gave a long defense of his position during al-Dajil incident adding that he had no connections with the acts of arrest, rather that one day after the gunfire was opened on Saddam, he went to the village and ordered the release of 80 detainees in the headquarters of the Baath party in the town "and said good bye to every one of them asking for forgiveness" and that after that the matter was no more in his hands and went to the general security department, which is a separate entity.

The other witness in Tuesday's session was Fadel Salfeih al-Azzawi, who worked as an assistant for the intelligence department for five years as from 1984, said to be Iraq's ambassador in Moscow, and he refused to give his testimony because he does not have enough information.

Tuesday's session was controversial. Saddam Hussein entered the court voluntarily wearing his black suit, chanting "God is Great, long live our great people, glorious nation and the Mujahidoun."

Meantime, Barazan al-Takriti was dragged to the court wearing just long under wear, chanting "long live Iraq, long live the Baath party."

When Takriti tried to talk later, the judge prevented him and this made him say "shame, I am a human being like you, even may be better, why do you do this for me."

Also talked in the court's session on Tuesday for the first time since a while was the former Iraqi vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan saying "you did not let us talk, this is unfair, you expelled our lawyers and the witnesses have come by force and complainers re named so and so, with no mention to their real name. Is there any thing (court) of that sort in the world? "

Previous Stories:
  UN Security Council gives Iraq money to UN, IAEA   (2/14/2006)
  Consultations to form Iraqi government   (2/14/2006)
  Saddam's trial delayed again; withdraws from court   (1/30/2006)
  Saddam Hussein's trial delayed until Sunday   (1/25/2006)
  Resumption of Saddam Hussein's trial and testimonies   (1/24/2006)

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