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Saddam Hussein during his first appearance before the Iraqi Special Tribunal

The first trial of Saddam Hussein, the former President of Iraq, began before the Iraqi Special Tribunal on October 19, 2005. In this case Hussein, along with seven other defendants, is being tried for allegations of crimes against humanity with regard to events that took place after a failed assassination attempt in Dujail in 1982 (see also human rights abuses in Iraq). A second and separate trial began in August 2006 trying Saddam, along with six other co-defendants, for genocide during the Anfal military campaign against the Kurds of Northern Iraq. On November 5, 2006, Saddam was sentenced to death by hanging. Saddam's lawyer has alleged that the date in which the verdict was read live to the world, November 5, was deliberately motivated by the Bush Administration to influence the U.S. midterm elections scheduled two days afterward.

If he is hanged, Saddam may also be tried in absentia for events dating to the Iran-Iraq War and the invasion of Kuwait, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

On June 30, 2004, Saddam, 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 alleged 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. Saddam asserts that he has been unlawfully overthrown, and is still the president of Iraq.

First hearing

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The 68-year-old deposed Iraqi leader appeared confident and defiant throughout the 46-minute hearing. Alternating between listening to and gesturing at the judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, Saddam Hussein questioned the legitimacy of the tribunal set up to try him. He 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 Saddam Hussein.

Also during the arraignment, Saddam 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 Saddam. "This is how he was raised," said the minister. Unlike the conservative monarch rulers in the area, which rule every other Arab nation in the Persian Gulf region, Saddam was born into a hard-scrabble, landless peasant family and was allegedly beaten as a child.

Although no attorneys for Saddam were present at the July 1 hearing, his first wife, Sajida Talfah, hired a multinational legal team of 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 first hearing, the deposed president refused to sign the legal document confirming his understanding of the charges.

Pre-trial events

In December 2004, Clive Stafford Smith prepared a 50-page brief for the defense team arguing that Saddam Hussein should be tried in the U.S. under U.S. criminal law.

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", Saddam 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, former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, former minister of Foreign Affairs of France Roland Dumas and former President of Algeria Ahmed Ben Bella announced the formation, under their joint chairmanship, of an international Emergency Committee for Iraq, with a main objective of ensuring fair trials for Saddam and the other former Baath Party officials being tried with him.

On July 18 2005, Saddam 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, Saddam'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 Saddam that he had ordered mass killings and other "crimes" during his regime and that he deserves to die. Two days later, Saddam's lawyer denied that he confessed.

Saddam's defense repeatedly argued for a delay in the proceedings, insisting that it had not been given evidence secured by the prosecution, had not been given sufficient time to review any prosecution documents, but so far these submissions have received no response from the court. Meanwhile international human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International as well as UN bodies such as the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have stated that the Iraqi Special Tribunal and its legal process does not meet international standards for a fair trial. The United Nations Secretary-General has 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 Saddam and seven other former Iraqi officials on trial on October 19 2005 four days after the October 15 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 Saddam protested against the trial in Tikrit.

Saddam's co-defendants are:

As in his pre-trial appearance, Saddam 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," Hussein 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, Saddam 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 Saddam as "the former president," Saddam objected emphatically, saying he was still the President of the Republic of Iraq, and had not been deposed.

While Saddam's seven co-defendants appeared in traditional Arabic male dress, Saddam wore a dark suit and a white shirt. Al-Bandar, sitting next to Saddam 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, Hussein'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 December 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, Saddam's legal defense team stormed out of the court after questioning its legitimacy and asking about return of defence papers seized by U.S. Army troops and security issues regarding the protection of the defense. Saddam, 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, Saddam refused to enter court, complaining of the conditions in which he was being held and the conduct of the trial. Saddam's complaints included, among other things, that he had not been able to change his clothes for four days.

On December 12, 2005, Instead of cross-examining witnesses, Saddam used the time to accuse his American captors of torturing him, saying, "I have been beaten on every place of my body, and the signs are all over my body."

On January 23, 2006, Rauf Rashid Abd al-Rahman was nominated interim chief judge of the tribunal. He replaces former chief judge Rizgar Amin, also a Kurd, who resigned after complaining of government interference. Hussein and his co-defendants objected to the change in judge, citing bias after he ordered defendant Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti out of the court, and announced they would boycott the trial under Rahman. On February 1 they failed to show up to court.

On March 15, 2006, Saddam was called by the prosecution as a witness. On the stand, he began making political statements, insisting he was still President of Iraq. He got in an argument with the judge, who eventually closed the trial to the public in response.

On June 19, 2006, Chief Prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi called for the death penalty for Saddam and four other defendants including Barzan al-Tikriti, Saddam's half-brother, Taha Yassin Ramadan, former Iraqi Vice President and Awad Hamed al-Bander, former chief judge of Saddam's Revolutionary Court. The suspects face execution by hanging if convicted and sentenced to death.

On June 21, 2006, Saddam's chief defense lawyer, Khamis al-Obeidi, was assassinated in Baghdad. In protest of the lack of international protection for lawyers, Saddam began a hunger strike. On June 23, 2006, it was reported that Saddam ended his hunger strike, having missed one meal.

On June 27 2006, two of Saddam Hussein's lawyers, Ramsey Clark, a former US Attorney-General, and Curtis Doebbler, held a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to call for immediate security for all the Iraqi defense lawyers and to complain in a lengthy and documented statement of the unfair trial being conducted by the American authorities using Iraqis as a front. The two lawyers claimed that the United States had refused to provide adequate protection for the defense lawyers despite repeated requests that were made and that the United States was intentionally ensuring an unfair trial.

On November 5 2006, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging. When the judge announced the verdict, Saddam shouted "Long live the people. Long live the Arab nation. Down with the spies. God is great." An appeal, mandated by the Iraqi judicial system, followed. There was speculation that the appeals could last years, postponing his actual execution. However, the judge has declared that all appeal proceedings must take place within 30 days.

International reaction to sentence

  • European Union European Union: The EU issued a statement saying that while the EU had repeatedly condemned "the systematic, widespread and extremely grave violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law committed by the regime of Saddam Hussein" that "The EU opposes capital punishment in all cases and under all circumstances, and it should not be carried out in this case either".
  • India India: External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee reacted guardedly to the death sentence awarded to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, saying such verdicts should not appear to be "victor's justice" and should be acceptable to the people of Iraq and the international community. In a statement, he said "such life and death decisions require credible due process of law."
  • Iran Iran: Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammed Ali Hosseni said "the Iranian republic welcomes the death sentence."
  • Iraq Iraq: Iraqi president Jalal Talabani said in a statement "I think this trial was fair", whilst Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said the sentence may "help alleviate the pain of the widows and the orphans" who lived under Saddam's regime.
  • Republic of Ireland Ireland: A spokeperson for the Foreign Affairs Minister said "Ireland and its EU partners have made it clear in the past to Iraqi authorities that we are opposed to courts applying the death sentence"
  • Netherlands The Netherlands: Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende was quoted saying "this sentence is fitting for the reign of terror by which Saddam ruled". Minister of Foreign Affairs Ben Bot said that even though Holland opposes the idea of the death sentence he could; "given the seriousness of the crimes understand the verdict".
  • New Zealand New Zealand: Prime Minister Helen Clark stated that the guilty verdict was appropriate but that she has "a long-standing objection to the death penalty and that will always be a concern to me". She declined to make a comment on whether the trial was fair, as it was hard to determine from so far away.
  • Russia Russia: Foreign affairs committee member Konstantin Kosachev made a cautious statement, saying he doubted the death penalty would be carried out. He said, "this is more of a moral ruling, revenge that modern Iraq is taking on the Saddam Hussein regime."
  • United Kingdom United Kingdom: Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett said "It is right that those accused of such crimes against the Iraqi people should face Iraqi justice"
  •  United States: The White House spokesman Tony Snow said the trial showed "absolute proof" that the judiciary in Iraq are independent.

Criticism

Charges

  • Critics, including one of Saddam's lawyers, Khalil al-Dulaim, have alleged that the date on which the verdict was read live to the world, November 5 2006, was deliberately selected and expedited by the Bush Administration to influence the U.S. midterm elections scheduled for just two days later. American officials reportedly have a heavy influence on the court.
  • Many criticised the choice of beginning tribunal proceedings with the Dujail case rather than the Anfal campaign.
  • Critics argue that no foreign government's preferences should be a priority in selecting charges, but instead as a post-conflict state, the Iraqi people need to come to terms with their history during the administration of the Baathist party. This involves bringing the most important crimes to court, and trying those responsible in a fair and just trial.
  • The television link of the trial is provided by a US company which frequently blanks out the sound of what Saddam and the others say, and sometimes cuts the vision as well. This is reportedly edited in line with instructions issued by the presiding judge: for example, if a defendant's microphone is switched off as a sanction, the defendant's speech is not broadcast. There are visitors and observers in attendance at all sessions except the small number that the presiding judge has declared closed. A more serious problem is the lack of a reliable transcript, which has hampered efforts by all parties to keep track of evidence and monitor proceedings.

General arrangements

Among Hussein's co-defendants, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, his half-brother and Iraq's intelligence chief at the time of the Dujail killings, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who issued death sentences to Dujail residents as head of a Revolutionary Court, were also sentenced to death by hanging.

Former Baath party officials in the Dujail region Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid, his son Mizher Abdullah Ruwayyid, and Ali Dayih Ali were sentenced to 15 years in prison.

References

  1. Saddam upsets Kuwaiti 'dogs' at Mail & Guardian online
  2. Saddam bids to challenge case in U.S. (The Sunday Times, 19 December 2004)
  3. Saddam rejects Rumsfeld offer of release at Thepeninsulaqatar.com
  4. "Saddam may escape noose in deal to halt insurgency" at dailytelegraph.co.uk
  5. Malaysia: Former Prime Minister Urgers Fair Trial for Saddam at Adnki.com
  6. Saddam family slims defence team at BBC News
  7. Lawyer denies Saddam confession at BBC News
  8. Demonstrations, statements, supporting Saddam at Arabicnews.com
  9. Saddam pleads innocent, trial adjourns at MSNBC
  10. A defiant Saddam pleads innocent, scuffles with guards in stormy hearing at The San Diego Union-Tribune
  11. Saddam alleges that he was tortured by the Americans at BBC News
  12. Court names new judge at BBC News
  13. Judge orders Saddam ejected from court at Guardian Unlimited
  14. Judge closes trial at Fox News Channel
  15. Saddam prosecution begins sum up at The Daily Telegraph
  16. Reuters. "Saddam ends hunger strike after missing one meal". Published and accessed 23 June 2006.
  17. Attorney Says US Intimidating Saddam Hussein's Lawyers at Cybercast News Service
  18. "Saddam Hussein Is Sentenced to Death". New York Times. 2006-11-05.
  19. Reuters (November 5 2006). "EU president Finland says Saddam should not hang". Reuters. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. PTI (November 5 2006). "Saddam verdict: India reacts guardedly". Rediff.com. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. BBC News. "Saddam sentence: Reaction in quotes" 5 November 2006.
  22. NZPA (6 November 2006). "Clark backs Saddam verdict but opposes death penalty". New Zealand Herald. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. Russia warns Saddam hanging would divide Iraq at Daily News & Analysis
  24. BBC News. "Government hails Saddam verdict" 5 November 2006
  25. Reuters. "Britain welcomes Saddam death verdict" 5 November 2006.
  26. Reuters: Saddam verdict date 'rigged' for Bush (New Zealand Herald, 5 November 2006)
  27. Bazzi, Mohamad (November 3 2006). "Saddam verdict to come Sunday". {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. S.S.M. (26 October 2006). "Saddam Hussein verdict postponed until two days before U.S. election: Will the media turn a skeptical eye?". mediamatters.org. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. John Simpson: Saddam's trial is not a farce (BBC, 23 December 2005)


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