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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Saddam Lawyer Says Trial Mockery of Justice |
| 2004-06-30 |
| One four course dose of irony coming right up! Wed Jun 30, 2004 12:37 PM ET By Suleiman al-Khalidi AMMAN Jordan (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein will not get a fair trial and his captors have already decided his fate, the deposed Iraqi president’s defense lawyer said Wednesday. "This is a mockery of justice. We are facing clear legal violations. ... The allegations that this is going to be a fair trial is baseless," said Mohammad Rashdan, one of a 20-member legal team appointed by Saddam’s wife to represent him. A U.S. official said the United States formally transferred Saddam and 11 of his top lieutenants before an Iraqi judge as Iraq took legal custody of them. Saddam will remain in the physical custody of U.S. forces. He and his top aides are to be charged Thursday. "Any trial of the president is illegal and unjust and it follows from the aggression that took place against Iraq. The trial is a farce and the guilty verdict had been issued even before the trial has begun," he added. Rashdan said he and his legal associates in the United States filed suits against the U.S. authorities for not allowing them access to Saddam. The defense team was not given any of the tons of documentation prepared by a special tribunal that will try the former Iraqi leader, he added. He said the team, which includes lawyers from the United States and France, had been threatened by Iraqi officials and feared for their lives if they came to Baghdad to defend Saddam without international protection. "They should provide us with international protection. ... Do they want to slaughter all the lawyers? If the court is not capable of ensuring a proper defense, is this is the justice they are thinking of delivering?" Rashdan said. "On what basis was the court set up and who appointed the judges and what laws it is subject to?," Rashdan asked, adding the tribunal’s judges had been bribed to take on the task. The now defunct U.S.-appointed Governing Council set up a war crimes tribunal and chose judges to try Saddam, who was captured in December. Some Arabs still see him as a nationalist hero who stood up to U.S. military might. Saddam’s aides and others among the 55 most wanted Iraqis on a U.S. list are seen as witnesses who could help prove a chain of command linking Saddam to crimes against humanity. Saddam will be charged with ordering the 1988 massacres of Kurds, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, according to Chalabi. "They are afraid of a bringing out the truth because a fair trial would be an indictment of (President) Bush. He has to first prove whether his entry into Iraq was legal or not," Rashdan said. Lawyers, is there any form of hypocrisy they cannot countenance? |
| Posted by:Zenster |
| #20 An Open Lettedr to Sadaam's Lawers You are perhaps the lowest of the low as far as legal attorneys go. You know full well that there will be elections long before you ever get to try this case, and you also know that this man was worse than Hitler. You are using public sentiment, especially in Iraq to get a change of venue. Those who print your drivel are either devoid of intelligence or as corrupt as you are. I have many people praying against any success and hope that all of his Swiss funds are frozen and that you won't receive one dime of the blood money Sadaam received from the European Corruption (France and Germany) nor from the blood of the Iraqi people. Those Iraqis who suffered these last ten years....who cooperated with Desert Storm, are proof that the average person in that country wanted our help and that it is any countries legal right to interfere when there is a threat to their own security. You are the scum of the earth...worse than Sadaa,. The soldiers who found him should have put a bullet in his brain....the money in that Swiss account belongs to the Iraqi people, not to you bloodsuckers Disgusted |
| Posted by: Diane 2004-07-04 5:45:57 PM |
| #19 "Your Honor, my client has been called a dictator and a butcher and a rapist by news organizations within the wonderful country he once ruled! No mention of the baby ducks he used to raise! Why, he's being tried by the people who replaced him after he had his ass kicked by the Marines! They want to make him face those he ruled! This cannot possibly be fair!" |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2004-06-30 11:13:51 PM |
| #18 "They are afraid of a bringing out the truth because a fair trial would be an indictment of (President) Bush. He has to first prove whether his entry into Iraq was legal or not," Rashdan said. There was no formal treaty closing hostilties, merely a ceasefire that Saddam constantly violated. On top of that, the Kuwaiti claims were never settled. Thus, this was a legal resumption of military action. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2004-06-30 11:07:07 PM |
| #17 Do they want to slaughter all the lawyers? Just the ones we don't like...Maybe we can get the ACLU to go over there? Some Arabs still see him as a nationalist hero who stood up to U.S. military might. You mean the murders crooks and the ones who oppress with fear right? Just fucking shoot them all, as soon as they get out of there cars shoot Saddam and the parasites that are defending him and just get it over with. No drawn out trial no leftist sympathy that I am sure Dan Blather will spew...Come to think of it, maybe Dan Blather can be part of the machine gun spray that I am hoping is awaiting Saddam. |
| Posted by: Long Hair Republican 2004-06-30 10:43:08 PM |
| #16 #4 Jules 187, you mean Jacques Vergès? IIRC, he proposed himself, but one of Saddam's daughters rejected him (must be humiliating when you're not good enough for defending Saddam...). I think he will represent Tarek Haziz. |
| Posted by: Anonymous5089 2004-06-30 6:52:50 PM |
| #15 A fair trial? From a society which believes that a fair trial is a sharp sword? Or does he mean fair trial as in "Free Saddam" signs at every peacenik rally going forwards? |
| Posted by: Brutus 2004-06-30 6:10:03 PM |
| #14 The lawyer better stick to defending his client. Making these BS statements ought to get him on the dock, too. "Are you defending Saddam, or are you joining him, sir?" |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-06-30 5:43:14 PM |
| #13 Butterfickle! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-06-30 5:34:42 PM |
| #12 Remember, justice is getting what you deserve. If he deserves to be found guilty, then by definition he has had a fair trial. Then hang his sorry ass! |
| Posted by: Spot 2004-06-30 5:19:44 PM |
| #11 The trial may well be a mockery of procedure and legality, in that the outcome will be known before it starts. That's not to say the subsequent hanging won't be justice. "Law" and "justice" are not always synonyms. |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-06-30 5:12:03 PM |
| #10 Saddam Lawyer Says Trial Mockery of Justice What then, would one call all the executions, tortures, and gassing that occurred under Saddam's rule? |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-30 5:03:15 PM |
| #9 It's a traveshammockery! Paging Lewis Carroll ... Please call your office. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-30 4:57:25 PM |
| #8 A fair trial, followed by a first-class hanging. |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-06-30 4:56:19 PM |
| #7 It's times like this that bring to mind the old saying: "Shot and hung after torture ... then drawn and quartered." |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-06-30 4:55:11 PM |
| #6 "It's a travesty, a sham, and a mockery. It's a traveshammockery!" |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-06-30 4:55:04 PM |
| #5 "Do they want to slaughter all the lawyers?" No just the really bad ones. |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-06-30 4:54:40 PM |
| #4 Mais ou se trouve l'avocat francais? L'un qui defend toujours les terroristes? |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-06-30 4:52:50 PM |
| #3 I don't think that Sadaam's guilt is in doubt - taping all the regime torture was certainly not a good idea - but his punishment is definitely in doubt. I'm sure the UN, France and the WWP will all attempt to browbeat and threaten the Iraqi people with ostracization if they execute him. Whatever the court decides, I recommend the full Kevlar suit option for prudent citizens that venture outside for a month or two after the verdict. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-06-30 4:46:52 PM |
| #2 I expect Saddam will get a fair trial and I am sure with a proper defense. Heck the whole world will be watching and the Iraqi people are no fools. But just because he gets a fair trial is no reason not to hang him. Actually the point of the trial is to document the reason for hanging him. Could it be that terms of employment for him and his 19 buddies is no pay if Saddam gets the high jump? Or does he fancy himself as sort of a Johnny Cocran with Camel? Regarding slaughter of lawyers, I withold comment.... |
| Posted by: Michael 2004-06-30 4:38:41 PM |
| #1 Yer Honor, I ask that my client be released on bail. He has strong ties to the community and is a highly respected tyrant...er...businessman. |
| Posted by: dreadnought 2004-06-30 4:34:58 PM |