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| Saturday, 3 July 2004 |
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Saddam's lawyers say he is denied a fair trial AMMAN, Friday (Reuters) A team of Western lawyers defending Saddam Hussein said the former dictator was being denied a fair trial by being brought before an Iraqi court without a lawyer and without independent judges. "I don't think there is a prospect of a fair trial in Baghdad and I think any court in Baghdad will inevitably be one which is not fair," Tim Hughes, a British criminal lawyer from the British-based Bevan Ashford law firm, told Reuters. Hughes is among a handful of Western lawyers in a 20-strong team who gathered in Amman to prepare Saddam's defence under a power of attorney by his wife Sajida Khairallah, which also has the support of their daughters Raghad, Rana and Hala. "We will be arguing for a trial away from Baghdad. He is entitled to legal representation and legal defence just as anybody is in any fair legal system," Hughes said as Saddam appeared on television in a courthouse and heard seven charges under a preliminary arrest warrant and was read his rights. Hughes cast doubt over the legality of Saddam's trial by an Iraqi government that does not enjoy full sovereignty. "We say that the regime which is currently in force is a regime which has no backing in law ... and coalition forces are still there," he added. "The current Iraqi government is an interim government. We don't have the proper sovereign state of Iraq as we should have. We will be arguing that Saddam Hussein remains the president of Iraq due to the illegal war to overthrow the government that detained him," Hughes added. Belgian lawyer Dominique Grisay, from Brussels-based Van Alsenoy and Partners law firm, said the tribunal was partisan. "An international court outside Iraq or inside is not important, but (what is needed is) an international court with judges not involved in the conflict and with clear rules as has been the case with Rwanda and other examples we have," he said. "The proceedings should not be made up to end up in a certain way ... You should have neutral judges, people coming from countries not been involved in what happened," said Grisay..Without a lawyer to represent him at the arraignment, Saddam refused to sign a statement acknowledging he had been charged and read his rights, including the right to legal counsel. "It is right to refuse to sign. He has not seen his lawyers, It is perfectly understandable that he doesn't sign a paper," Grisay said. The trial's course would set a trend in international law, Grisay added. "The trial is about limits of international law. Is this a legal one or not?. Which law is going to be applied? I don't feel at ease," he added. French lawyer Emmanuel Ludit said the trial was a political vendetta by Saddam's political foes and only an international court would guarantee an impartial and fair hearing. "This is revenge cloaked in the guise of an court. There should be an international trial with legal judges who are impartial and not party to the conflict as these are," he added. |
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