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Iraq
Saddam lawyers ‘not surprised’ at upholding of death verdict
2006-12-27
AMMAN - The defence team of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein said Tuesday they were ‘not surprised’ by the Iraqi Court of Cassation’s decision to uphold the death penalty passed on the former dictator and two of his aides.
I'm not surprised either.
‘We have not been surprised by either the first death verdict nor by the Court of Cassation’s decision,’ the head of Saddam’s defence panel Khalil Duleimi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. ‘These are political courts that have nothing do with legality, because they have been set up by invaders and people who came from Iran and their agendas met on the destruction of Iraq and its people,’ he said.
Which was reserved to Sammy!
The death sentence passed on Saddam Hussein was upheld Tuesday. A tribunal handed down the verdicts on November 5 after finding Saddam and other two former officials guilty of the murder of 148 Iraqi Shias following a failed attempt on SaddamÂ’s life in the village of Dujail in 1982. SaddamÂ’s death by hanging must now be carried out within 30 days.

‘President Saddam has been tried by his political foes and the verdict represents the justice of the victorious,’ Duleimi said. He issued an appeal to all international legal organizations ‘to intervene not for the sake of rescuing persons but for salvaging Iraq which is heading to destruction, thanks to the policies of its crazy government.’
He'll keep talking big right up to the moment Sammy swings, and then it will be 'Saddam who'?
Posted by:Steve White

#6  Â‘We have not been surprised by either the first death verdict nor by the Court of CasstrationÂ’s decision,Â’ the head of SaddamÂ’s defence panel Khalil Duleimi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Paging Lorena Bobbitt, paging "Dr." Bobbitt!
Posted by: BA   2006-12-27 15:40  

#5  Hang the lawyers first.
Posted by: Besoeker   2006-12-27 11:11  

#4  Can we hang his lawyers too?
Posted by: DMFD   2006-12-27 11:07  

#3  Saddam admits to gassing the Kurds and others, ergo must be shocked like the ACLU-HRW-AMNESTY INTERN + MOVEON.org that he will be executed, and executed despite their oposition to said execution. "JUST BECUZ SADDAM ADMITS TO KILLING + GENOCIDIN' DOESN'T MEAN HE SHOULD BE KILLED, ESPEC WHEN WAR CRIMINAL DUBYA = ENRON, etc. ISN'T"???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2006-12-27 00:26  

#2  As always, thanks for the insight, Verlaine.
Posted by: Seafarious   2006-12-27 00:24  

#1  Duleimi's very dirty, very connected to very bad people of current interest, and very well paid for his (farcical) efforts. Presumably No. 1 will be gone from the Anfal case soon, so I suspect Duleimi and the other 2,335 would-be defenders of SH will disappear, as Steve says. The $$$$ from Amman and elsewhere will presumably dry up once it's just the likes of Chemical Ali and General Ahmad on trial.

I actually am a bit surprised at how quickly the appeals chamber delivered their decision. I wasn't well versed on that chamber's tendencies (then again, almost nobody was, as it hadn't had to deal with much before this), but I was quite close to the overall process. Haven't been able to establish commo with any of my colleagues still on the scene - imagine they're experiencing a Cat 5 s**t-storm at the moment.

While the process had its warts (like most trials everywhere), it was in fact the opposite of what Duleimi claims. I know many here preferred that SH be quickly dispatched, but I don't think the generally dysfunctional media coverage in the west will change the impact on Iraq and neighboring areas of seeing a former strongman on open trial, with evidence presented and contested.

The evidence in the current Anfal case has been dramatic - but of course there's no oxygen in our media or political discourse for such things at the moment. But it's a worthy effort and one that will probably have an impact over time. Under the bravado and superficial bellicosity of many Sunnis there's a realization that their former leader has been shown to be a thug and maniacal killer - proven to be one. Preposterous stuff about Iran and "victor's justice" is cheap defensive talk (much like the substantively weak critiques of intl. "human rights" organizations who irrationally oppose anything connected with the US, esp. anything connected with Iraq).


Posted by: Verlaine   2006-12-27 00:18  

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