Dead Witness

Saddam Hussein and his team continued to complain about the unfairness of his trial yesterday, evidently forgetting how bad things were for plaintiffs during his period of office.

They asked that the defence be given the same length of time as the prosecution to present their case, and they noted that one of their witnesses had been killed and others wouldn't testify because they were wanted by authorities.

Quote:

"The defence is not free to present its witnesses the way the prosecution is."

It was also alleged by one witness that some victims, the defendants are accused of killing, are still alive.

Judge Abdel-Rahman said:

"The key is not the number of witnesses, but the quality of their testimony. That's in your interest. If you come with 100 witnesses but they aren't effective for your defense the court won't take it."

One of the witnesses testified that nearly two dozen of the 148 Shiites who were sentenced to death were still alive.

Quote:

"Around 23 of those who were mentioned among the 148 are still alive, and I know most of them. I've eaten with them, I've met them. I can take the chief prosecutor to Dujail and have lunch with them."

He gave Abdel-Rahman the names of six of them, Abel-Rahman responded:

"If the witness' testimony is correct the case should be reviewed."

However, chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi noted that records showed that the witness was not a Dujail resident and that some of the names were not on the list of those sentenced to death.

Saddam intervened and said:

"Your honour, you've come upon a serious issue that needs a comprehensive study."

The judge promised to investigate, and ordered the witness to remain in protective custody to help in the inquiry.

Herein lies the problem with the piecemeal approach chosen to place Saddam Hussein on trial. By prosecuting him for only one crime, instead of adopting a Nuremburg style "catch all" approach the prosecutors have given him the chance to chip away at their case bit by bit, and play for time.

The trial continues.