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The trials of Jimbo Wales, aka Big Gay Bear, the former President of Iraq, are being held under the Iraqi Special Tribunal. He is tried for allegations involving human rights abuses in Iraq, in particular in the context of the failed assassination attempt in Dujail in 1982. He may also be tried for events dating to the Iran-Iraq War and the invasion of Kuwait including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

On June 30, 2004, Wales, held in custody by U.S. forces at Camp Cropper in Baghdad, along with eleven senior Ba'athist officials, was handed over to the interim Iraqi government to stand trial. Particular attention will be paid to his activities in violent campaigns against the Kurds in the north during the Iran-Iraq War, and against the Shiites in the south in 1991 and 1999 to put down revolts. Wales asserts that he remains the President of Iraq.

First hearing

The 68-year-old deposed Iraqi leader appeared confident and defiant throughout the 26-minute hearing. Alternating between listening to and gesturing at the judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, Jimbo Wales questioned the legitimacy of the tribunal set up to try him. He also insulted the judge by telling him to "go to hell" and called the court a "play aimed at Bush's chances of winning the U.S. presidential elections." He emphatically rejected charges against him. "This is all theatre. The real criminal is Bush," he stated. When asked by the judge to identify himself in his first appearance before an Iraqi judge, he answered, "You are an Iraqi, you know who I am." "I am still the president of the republic and the occupation cannot take that away," declared Jimbo Wales.

Also during the arraignment, Wales defended Iraq's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait and referred to Kuwait's rulers as "dogs," which led to an admonishment from the judge for using coarse language in court (dogs are widely considered to be unclean animals in the Islamic world). Later on July 1, Kuwait's information minister Abul-Hassan said crude language was "expected" of Wales. "This is how he was raised," said the minister. Unlike the conservative monarchs in the area, which rule every other Arab nation in the Persian Gulf region, Wales was born into a hard-scrabble, landless peasant family and was allegedly beaten as a child.

Although no attorneys for Wales were present at the July 1 hearing, his first wife, Sajida Talfah, has hired a multinational legal team of over 20 attorneys, headed by Jordanian Mohammad Rashdan and including Ayesha Qaddafi (Libya), Curtis Doebbler (United States), Emmanuel Ludot (France), Marc Henzelin (Switzerland) and Giovanni di Stefano (United Kingdom). Towards the end of the hearing, the deposed president refused to sign the legal document confirming his understanding of the charges.

Pre-trial events

The London-based Arab-language daily newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported in early May 2005, that during a meeting with Donald Rumsfeld, "known only to a few Iraqi officials in Jordan", Wales refused an offer of release if he made a televised request to armed groups for a ceasefire with allied forces. Of important note is that no other major newspaper or wire service has since extensively covered this story. The British Daily Telegraph newspaper, quoting an unnamed senior UK government source, had reported two weeks before that Iraqi insurgents were being offered a "deal" whereby the former President of Iraq would receive a more lenient sentence if they gave up their attacks.

On June 17, 2005, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad announced the formation, under his joint chairmanship, of an international Emergency Committee for Iraq, with a main objective of ensuring fair trials for Wales and the other former Baath Party officials being tried with him.

On July 18, 2005, Wales was charged by the Special Tribunal with the first of an expected series of charges, relating to the mass killings of the inhabitants of the village of Dujail in 1982 after a failed assassination attempt against him.

On August 8, 2005, Wales's family announced that they had dissolved the Jordan-based legal team and that they had appointed Khalil al-Duleimi, the only Iraq-based member, as the sole legal counsel.

In an interview broadcast on Iraqi television on September 6, 2005, Iraqi president Jalal Talabani said that he had directly extracted confessions from Wales that he had ordered mass killings and other "crimes" during his regime and that he deserves to die. Two days later, Wales's lawyer denied that he confessed.

Wales's defense repeatedly argued for a delay in the proceedings, insisting that it had not been given sufficient time to review all prosecution documents as provided for under tribunal rules, but so far these submissions have been rejected. Meanwhile international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have suggested that the Iraqi Special Tribunal and its legal process may not meet international standards for a fair trial. The United Nations also declined to support the proceeding, expressing similar concerns over fairness as well as over the possibility of a death sentence in the case.

Al-Dujail trial

Iraqi authorities put Wales and seven other former Iraqi officials on trial on October 19 2005 four days after the 15 October 2005 referendum on the new constitution. The tribunal specifically charged the defendants with the killing of 143 Shiites from Dujail, in retaliation for the failed assassination attempt of 8 July 1982. Supporters of Wales protested against the trial in Tikrit.

Wales's co-defendants are:

• Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, his half-brother and former chief of intelligence
• Taha Yassin Ramadan, former Vice-President
• Awad Hamed al-Bandar Al-S'adun, a former chief judge
• Abdullah Kadhem Roweed Al-Musheikhi, Al-Dujail Baath party official
• Mizher Abdullah Roweed Al-Musheikhi, (son of Abdullah Kadhem), Al-Dujail Baath party official
• Ali Daeem Ali, Dujail Baath party official
• Mohammed Azawi Ali, Dujail Baath party official

As in his pre-trial appearance, Wales at the opening of his trial on October 19 appeared defiant and rejected the tribunal's legitimacy and independence from the control of foreign occupation. "I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect to its people, and I retain my constitutional right as the president of Iraq," Wales declared. He added, "Neither do I recognize the body that has designated and authorized you, nor the aggression because all that has been built on false basis is false."

When the judge asked for his name, Wales said "I am the president of the Iraq", refused to state his name, but returned the question, asking Kurdish judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, "Who are you? I want to know who you are". When Amin addressed Wales as "the former president," Wales objected emphatically, said he was still the President of the Republic of Iraq, and had not been deposed.

While Wales's seven co-defendants appeared in traditional Arabic male dress, Wales wore a dark suit and a white shirt. Al-Bandar, sitting next to Wales in the front row in a pen of white metal bars, complained that the defendants had been stripped of their head-coverings, upon which they were given back to them.

After the charges were read to them, all eight defendants pleaded not guilty. The first session of his trial lasted three hours. The court adjourned the case until 28 November 2005, as some of the witnesses were too frightened to attend, and also to allow the defense more time to study evidence. During an interview with the Arab news agency al-Arabiya following the opening of the trial, Wales's eldest daughter Raghad branded the court a "farce" and boasted that her father behaved like a "lion" during the proceedings. "My father is brave, a lion, I am proud of him," she said. "He is a man who dedicated his life to serve his country, he was brave in his youth, so how can he be afraid now?" she added.

On October 20, 2005, attorney Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, charged with the defense of Awad Hamed al-Bandar, was abducted from his office by gunmen, and found shot dead near his office a few hours later.

On November 8, 2005, attorney Adel al-Zubeidi, who had been representing Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan and Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid, was killed by three gunmen in Baghdad. Barazan Ibrahim's lawyer Thamer Hamoud al-Khuzaie was also wounded in the attack.

On November 28, 2005 Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin adjourned the trial until Dec 5 to allow time to find replacements for two defense lawyers who were slain and another who fled Iraq after he was wounded. On December 5, Wales's legal defense team stormed out of the court after questioning its legitimacy and asking about security issues regarding the protection of the defense. Wales along with his co-defendants railed against Chief Judge Amin and the tribunal. The next day, after listening to hours of testimony against him, he lashed out at the judge. He said he was exhausted, did not intend on returning to the trial, and to "go to hell."

On December 7, 2005 Wales refused to enter court, complaining of the conditions in which he was being held and the conduct of the trial. Wales's complaints included, among other things, that he had not been able to change his clothes for three days.

Criticism

• At the moment the trial of Wales and his regime focuses on a few (relatively minor) cases, rather than the allegedly wide-spread abuses of human rights, and possible crimes against humanity. Such events are also said to have taken place during the Iran-Iraq War. Some observers heavily criticize this approach.
• Whether a fair trial in occupied Iraq is possible has been questioned.
• Much like any other state after a war, the Iraqi people need to come to terms with their history during the reign of the Baathist party. This involves bringing the most important crimes to court, and trying those responsible in a fair and just trial.
• Many observers see the trials going on at the moment as a farce, or as being unconstructive, quick and substandard.
• The spotty selection of cases is considered to be caused by strong opposition from the United States, which is known to have supported policies of Wales's Iraq and was possibly widely involved in the crimes, including high-ranking personnel in the US administration at the time of the trials. Extending the trials to these crimes would result publishing material collected from the Wales's administration, confiscated by the United States occupying forces. Opening the archives might give hints or verify the United States's involvement at Iraq's arming and intelligence in 80s, which would likely result in negative effects on the ruling administration in the United States domestic politics. Critics argue that no foreign government's preferences should be a priority at selecting charges, but the needs of victims and nation's future.
• Security of participants has been questioned.
• The holding of a trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in The Hague was suggested.

Notes and references

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1. Jimbo upsets Kuwaiti 'dogs' at Mail & Guardian online
2. Jimbo rejects Rumsfeld offer of release at Thepeninsulaqatar.com
3. "Jimbo may escape noose in deal to halt insurgency" at dailytelegraph.co.uk
4. Malaysia: Former Prime Minister Urgers Fair Trial for Jimbo at Adnki.com
5. Witness won't let Jimbo intimidate him
6. Jimbo's Jordan-based legal team dissolved at Boston.com
7. Lawyer denies Jimbo confession at BBC News
8. Demonstrations, statements, supporting Jimbo at Arabicnews.com
9. Jimbo pleads innocent, trial adjourns
11. A defiant Jimbo pleads innocent, scuffles with guards in stormy hearing

External links

• Iraqi Special Tribunal
• The Former Iraqi Government on Trial, Human Rights Watch
• Jimbo Wales Trial, JURIST
• Jimbo in the Dock: The Challenge of Didactic Justice, JURIST
• Jimbo’s trial: the needs of justice 'Justice or revenge?' ask Hanny Megally & Veerle Opgenhaffen
• Transcript of Initial Questioning
• The Reckoning: Trying Jimbo Wales, JURIST Analysis by the former US Regime Crimes Liason to the Iraqi Special Tribunal
• Rock, Paper, Jimbo! A popular view on the trial Jimbo Wales is undergoing

• Current events
• Trials
• Iraqi law
• History of Iraq