Saddam Hussein's chief lawyer, Ziad al-Khasawneh, has left Saddam Hussein's legal team.
He cites attempts by the team's American members to try to run the defence, and "soft pedal" on the US occupation of Iraq, as being the reasons for his resignation.
Ziad al-Khasawneh reportedly said that Saddam's eldest daughter, Raghad, prefers to have Americans and non-Arabs on the defence team "because she thinks they will win the case and free her father."
Al-Khasawneh is quoted as saying:
"I was resigning because some American lawyers in the defense team want to take control of it and isolate their Arab counterparts,".
The Americans on the team include former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark.
Al-Khasawneh said Clark and Curtis Doebbler, another American lawyer helping defend Saddam, "have often asked me to refrain from criticizing the American occupation of Iraq and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government."
Al-Khasawneh has also accused Saddam's daughter of removing all files related to Saddam's defense from his office. "I was away in Libya when she did all that without my knowledge,".
Saddam's legal team includes 1,500 volunteers and 22 lead lawyers from several countries including; the United States, France, Jordan, Iraq and Libya.
No date has been set for the trial of Saddam.
Friday, July 08, 2005
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Saddam's Security Officer Killed
The body of Assad Abdel Hadi Haidar, a former Iraqi security officer for Saddam Hussein, was found by Egyptian police on Tuesday.
Haidar's body was bound to a chair with his nose and mouth taped; seemingly he died of suffocation.
Police have arrested five Egyptians, including a real estate agent who was helping Haidar to find a house in Cairo, in connection with the crime.
Haidar entered Egypt on June 6 as a businessman, he fled Iraq fearing vengeance from family members of victims of Saddam's regime.
Haidar's body was bound to a chair with his nose and mouth taped; seemingly he died of suffocation.
Police have arrested five Egyptians, including a real estate agent who was helping Haidar to find a house in Cairo, in connection with the crime.
Haidar entered Egypt on June 6 as a businessman, he fled Iraq fearing vengeance from family members of victims of Saddam's regime.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Dodgy Property Deals
The fall of Saddam Hussein has unearthed some dodgy property deals in Iraq.
It was common practice, under the dictatorship of Saddam's Baath party, for the state to strip political opponents and those sentenced to death or prison or deported of their assets.
Now that Saddam has gone, the new regime has allowed people to reclaim their "stolen" property.
The law denies compensation to those who bought contested property at government auctions, and is unclear on what those who have to give back property would get in return.
This has led, not surprisingly to complicated legal disputes as to who owns what.
There have been 77,000 claims, in which about 1,000 final decisions were made with half the applications rejected.
Two favourable rulings from the commission for properties were given to the two cousins of former prime minister, Iyad Allawi.
Commission chief Suhail Saleh was a member of the Baathist party, and is seen by many to be biased in his rulings.
There are other worries as to ownership; the home of former deputy premier Tareq Aziz was taken over by Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, entire blocks in Baghdad's upscale Mansur district occupied by the Iraqi National Congress party of Ahmed Chalabi and several homes and buildings taken over by Allawi's Iraqi National Accord party among others.
Haitham Fadel, the official who compiled the property list, was shot in Baghdad in May 2004 with Chalabi's nephew Salam.
Money and property can be very divisive.
It was common practice, under the dictatorship of Saddam's Baath party, for the state to strip political opponents and those sentenced to death or prison or deported of their assets.
Now that Saddam has gone, the new regime has allowed people to reclaim their "stolen" property.
The law denies compensation to those who bought contested property at government auctions, and is unclear on what those who have to give back property would get in return.
This has led, not surprisingly to complicated legal disputes as to who owns what.
There have been 77,000 claims, in which about 1,000 final decisions were made with half the applications rejected.
Two favourable rulings from the commission for properties were given to the two cousins of former prime minister, Iyad Allawi.
Commission chief Suhail Saleh was a member of the Baathist party, and is seen by many to be biased in his rulings.
There are other worries as to ownership; the home of former deputy premier Tareq Aziz was taken over by Shiite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, entire blocks in Baghdad's upscale Mansur district occupied by the Iraqi National Congress party of Ahmed Chalabi and several homes and buildings taken over by Allawi's Iraqi National Accord party among others.
Haitham Fadel, the official who compiled the property list, was shot in Baghdad in May 2004 with Chalabi's nephew Salam.
Money and property can be very divisive.
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Shootout With Saddam's Bodyguards
There has been a shootout between Syrian security forces and ex members of Saddam Hussein's bodyguard on Mount Qassioun, near Damascus.
A Syrian security officer has reportedly died in the shootout, which happened on Sunday night.
Two members of the group are believed to have been arrested, four policemen were also hurt.
A Syrian security official has been quoted as saying that Monday's clash took place with a "group of people wanted for terrorist crimes... some of whom were former bodyguards of Saddam Hussein".
A Syrian official quoted by Sana identified one captured militant as a Jordanian citizen, Ayed al-Semadi.
Last week, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Syria of allowing insurgents to enter Iraq for attacks on US and government targets.
Syria has denied it is aiding the Iraqi insurgents.
A Syrian security officer has reportedly died in the shootout, which happened on Sunday night.
Two members of the group are believed to have been arrested, four policemen were also hurt.
A Syrian security official has been quoted as saying that Monday's clash took place with a "group of people wanted for terrorist crimes... some of whom were former bodyguards of Saddam Hussein".
A Syrian official quoted by Sana identified one captured militant as a Jordanian citizen, Ayed al-Semadi.
Last week, US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused Syria of allowing insurgents to enter Iraq for attacks on US and government targets.
Syria has denied it is aiding the Iraqi insurgents.
Monday, July 04, 2005
Best Seller
Despite languishing in a prison cell, as he awaits trial, Saddam Hussein appears to have a best seller on his hands.
It is reported that in Amman's downtown bazaars, the bestselling book these days is Saddam Hussein's bootlegged novel "Get out of here, curse you!"
The book was banned by Jordan, on the grounds that it would harm relations between Jordan and Iraq.
Saddam's book tells the story of Salem, a noble Arab tribesman representing righteousness and Arab nationalism, who defeats his American and Jewish enemies.
The story tells how Salem unites divided Arab tribes in Iraq to defeat Hisquel, a foreign intruder who represents evil.
However, despite the ban, it seems that the novel has become so popular that booksellers say they can't keep up with demand.
One vendor is quoted as saying:
"We are waiting for the book to be published again. Even if it is banned I will ask for copies outside Jordan..I had it before the government banned it but after the ban more people came to look for it,".
As with any product that is banned, as soon as it is banned, people will clamour all the more for it.
Governments never learn, do they?
Portraits of Saddam smiling like a benevolent father figure are also popular in the shops of Amman.
Some regard Saddam as an Arab nationalist leader.
Joost Hiltermann, of the International Crisis Group, is quoted as saying:
"There is a lot of unhappiness in Jordan about what is going on in Iraq..The images of violence and of Saddam in his underpants have reinforced the notion that the US war is illegal and that Americans are in Iraq to humiliate Arabs."
It is reported that in Amman's downtown bazaars, the bestselling book these days is Saddam Hussein's bootlegged novel "Get out of here, curse you!"
The book was banned by Jordan, on the grounds that it would harm relations between Jordan and Iraq.
Saddam's book tells the story of Salem, a noble Arab tribesman representing righteousness and Arab nationalism, who defeats his American and Jewish enemies.
The story tells how Salem unites divided Arab tribes in Iraq to defeat Hisquel, a foreign intruder who represents evil.
However, despite the ban, it seems that the novel has become so popular that booksellers say they can't keep up with demand.
One vendor is quoted as saying:
"We are waiting for the book to be published again. Even if it is banned I will ask for copies outside Jordan..I had it before the government banned it but after the ban more people came to look for it,".
As with any product that is banned, as soon as it is banned, people will clamour all the more for it.
Governments never learn, do they?
Portraits of Saddam smiling like a benevolent father figure are also popular in the shops of Amman.
Some regard Saddam as an Arab nationalist leader.
Joost Hiltermann, of the International Crisis Group, is quoted as saying:
"There is a lot of unhappiness in Jordan about what is going on in Iraq..The images of violence and of Saddam in his underpants have reinforced the notion that the US war is illegal and that Americans are in Iraq to humiliate Arabs."
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Saddam Hussein Appears In Opera
Saddam Hussein has now taken on a new role in his career, he is taking centre stage in an Australian production of Verdi's opera "Nabucco".
The opera, opened at Sydney Opera House this week, tells the biblical story of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar driving the people of Jerusalem out of the Holy Temple; and his power struggle with his daughter Abigaille, whom he adopted when she was a slave.
The director, David Freeman, is quoted as saying:
"It's trying to give edge to a work which once had an edge, but that edge was Italian politics..It's making it about the politics of today."
Freeman has cast Nebuchadnezzar as Saddam in his opening appearance on stage; wearing a gun, hat, gangster suit and mustache.
In the final appearance he is portrayed as a crazed figure, with shaggy hair and a beard.
Freeman said:
"I came across a few years ago ... a poster in the style of a painted Hollywood poster of the 1930s ... of Saddam Hussein as Nebuchadnezzar. In his chariot with four white horses charging out into the desert and him with Nebuchadnezzar's bow in his arm but there's also an Exocet (missile) and a helicopter and a destroyer in the picture as well."
Adding:
"To be an absolute ruler and a very tyrannical ruler who even was killing members of his own family and then have your world reduced to virtually a coffin underground, that is a Shakespearean metaphor..It's like King Lear."
The opera will continue until August 12.
The opera, opened at Sydney Opera House this week, tells the biblical story of Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar driving the people of Jerusalem out of the Holy Temple; and his power struggle with his daughter Abigaille, whom he adopted when she was a slave.
The director, David Freeman, is quoted as saying:
"It's trying to give edge to a work which once had an edge, but that edge was Italian politics..It's making it about the politics of today."
Freeman has cast Nebuchadnezzar as Saddam in his opening appearance on stage; wearing a gun, hat, gangster suit and mustache.
In the final appearance he is portrayed as a crazed figure, with shaggy hair and a beard.
Freeman said:
"I came across a few years ago ... a poster in the style of a painted Hollywood poster of the 1930s ... of Saddam Hussein as Nebuchadnezzar. In his chariot with four white horses charging out into the desert and him with Nebuchadnezzar's bow in his arm but there's also an Exocet (missile) and a helicopter and a destroyer in the picture as well."
Adding:
"To be an absolute ruler and a very tyrannical ruler who even was killing members of his own family and then have your world reduced to virtually a coffin underground, that is a Shakespearean metaphor..It's like King Lear."
The opera will continue until August 12.
Friday, July 01, 2005
Push For An Early Trial
Ibrahim Jaafari, the Prime Minister of Iraq, is applying pressure to magistrates investigating Saddam Hussein for war crimes.
Jaafari wants the trial to start in a month or two. The deadline is due to the fact that there will be an election in December.
This seems to be at variance with the preferred US position for a full war crimes trial; the benefits of which, from the US perspective, would be that they would use the trial to justify the rationale for the invasion of Iraq.
Jaafari told reporters:
"We cannot pinpoint a specific date, maybe a month or two...Maybe Aug. 15 or Sept. 15....But we have succeeded in making the deadline not to exceed three months, instead of being open-ended."
However, tribunal rules are that there must be a 45-day delay between a judge referring a case for trial and courtroom proceedings. The referral can only be once an investigation is complete.
It is considered unlikely that the investigation will finish before mid-August.
Despite the political wish to speed things up, the law must be followed; it is after all going to be the bedrock of a democratic and free Iraq, which is why (so we are all told) the war was started in the first place.
Badea Aref, a lawyer for Tareq Aziz, Saddam Hussein's former deputy prime minister, said:
"No. A thousand times No. They can't do it, not even in September...I even doubt they can do it this year. It is very, very difficult. The investigation needs time. This talk is not about legal facts. It is political rhetoric,".
Saddam and 11 of his top lieutenants are being held at a U.S. military camp at Baghdad airport. A special courtroom is nearly completed in the fortified compound in the city centre, that once housed his presidential palaces.
Jaafari wants the trial to start in a month or two. The deadline is due to the fact that there will be an election in December.
This seems to be at variance with the preferred US position for a full war crimes trial; the benefits of which, from the US perspective, would be that they would use the trial to justify the rationale for the invasion of Iraq.
Jaafari told reporters:
"We cannot pinpoint a specific date, maybe a month or two...Maybe Aug. 15 or Sept. 15....But we have succeeded in making the deadline not to exceed three months, instead of being open-ended."
However, tribunal rules are that there must be a 45-day delay between a judge referring a case for trial and courtroom proceedings. The referral can only be once an investigation is complete.
It is considered unlikely that the investigation will finish before mid-August.
Despite the political wish to speed things up, the law must be followed; it is after all going to be the bedrock of a democratic and free Iraq, which is why (so we are all told) the war was started in the first place.
Badea Aref, a lawyer for Tareq Aziz, Saddam Hussein's former deputy prime minister, said:
"No. A thousand times No. They can't do it, not even in September...I even doubt they can do it this year. It is very, very difficult. The investigation needs time. This talk is not about legal facts. It is political rhetoric,".
Saddam and 11 of his top lieutenants are being held at a U.S. military camp at Baghdad airport. A special courtroom is nearly completed in the fortified compound in the city centre, that once housed his presidential palaces.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Sun Stands Firm
Following on from yesterday's article about Saddam Hussein suing The Sun, for publishing photos of him in his jail cell in his underwear, The Sun has come out defiantly saying that they will see him in court.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Saddam May Sue Sun
David Price, a London media lawyer, has been approached to advise on Saddam Hussein's prospects of success in a high court human rights claim over photographs of him in his underpants, washing his trousers, shuffling around and sleeping; all of which appeared on the front page of the Sun.
Price has been approached by Saddam's family, and it is speculated that Saddam would have a good chance of winning a claim for misuse of private information as a result of the Human Rights Act.
However, given his current circumstances, it is unlikely that he would benefit very much from any damages awarded.
It is reported that another legal firm had been approached to handle this case. However, they turned it down due to the risk of action by terrorist and pressure groups.
I thought that the regime change engineered in Iraq was meant to lessen the terrorist threat?
Price has been approached by Saddam's family, and it is speculated that Saddam would have a good chance of winning a claim for misuse of private information as a result of the Human Rights Act.
However, given his current circumstances, it is unlikely that he would benefit very much from any damages awarded.
It is reported that another legal firm had been approached to handle this case. However, they turned it down due to the risk of action by terrorist and pressure groups.
I thought that the regime change engineered in Iraq was meant to lessen the terrorist threat?
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
The Charges
The Iraqi government announced this month that Saddam Hussein would face 12 charges of crimes against humanity.
This is despite the fact that there are more than 500 confirmed cases against him.
Leith Kubba, an Iraqi government spokesman, is quoted as saying:
"The 12 chosen charges are more than enough to give him the maximum sentence applicable,".
Six of the twelve charges relate to the most barbaric incidents during the Hussein regime. These are:
This is despite the fact that there are more than 500 confirmed cases against him.
Leith Kubba, an Iraqi government spokesman, is quoted as saying:
"The 12 chosen charges are more than enough to give him the maximum sentence applicable,".
Six of the twelve charges relate to the most barbaric incidents during the Hussein regime. These are:
- The execution of more than 145 Iraqis in 1982 in Dujail
- The murder, by gassing, of nearly 5,000 people in the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988
- The execution of political and religious leaders during the 35 years in power
- The killing and deportation of more than 10,000 members of the Kurdish Barzani tribe
- The 1991 suppression of a Shi'ite uprising in southern Iraq
- The illegal occupation of Kuwait in 1991
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