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| Iraq |
| 1991 uprising case's defendant denies army intervention in Basra events |
| 2008-06-24 |
| (VOI) – Former Iraqi Minister of Defense (under Saddam Hussein) and a defendant in the 1991 Shaabaniya Uprising case, Saadi Toama Abbas al-Jubori, on Monday denied that the Iraqi army participated in military operations in the events that took place in Basra city, during March of 1991. Justice Mohammed Araiby today opened the Iraqi Supreme Criminal Court's session by hearing al-Jubori's testimony, who was the leader of the southern area during the uprising. Al-Jubori entered the courtroom dressing in the Arab traditional style, and started reading a written statement. "Events in Basra, which lasted for only one day, from March 2 to March 3 1991, did not witness any Iraqi army participation, because the events did not have the military nature, and this cancels the army's right to intervene," al-Jubori explained. "When the Basra events started, the army troops had just ended a confrontation with the coalition (Operation to Liberate Kuwait), and were therefore tired and experiencing hard circumstances. The Iraqi army's officers and military personnel were killed and kidnapped during the events in Basra, but the army did not receive orders from the command to intervene," he added. "This issue kept the army operating within the permanent procedures of self-protection and preserving military equipments," he noted. By the end of his testimony, al-Jubori said that he is "innocent of all the charges directed against him." |
| Posted by:Fred |