Saddam Witnesses Defend 148 Shiite Deaths

[Woodmonkey]

Saddam Witnesses Defend 148 Shiite Deaths

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Defense witnesses in the trial of Saddam Hussein argued Monday that a court which sentenced 148 Shiites to death following a 1980s assassination attempt on the former Iraqi leader was fair and gave the defendants a proper defense.

Saddam and seven former members of his regime are on trial on charges of crimes against humanity for killings, torture and the imprisonment of families during the crackdown launched after a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.

The defense on Monday called a string of witnesses to testify on behalf of Awad al-Bandar, head of the Revolutionary Court who sentenced the 148 Shiites to death.

"Mr. al-Bandar took the humanitarian aspect into consideration, and he was fair and made all judgment according to law," said the first witness, a lawyer who worked at the court.

"The court allowed defendants to commission a lawyer and if a defendant was not able to hire a lawyer then the court would appoint one for him. The court also was allowing all defendants to talk freely," the witness said, speaking from behind a curtain to preserve his anonymity.

The prosecution has argued that the 148 effectively received a show trial and had no chance to defend themselves. It has presented documents showing that children were among those sentenced to death.

Al-Bandar has insisted the trial was fair and that all the defendants confessed to a role in the attack on Saddam. But he has acknowledged that there was only one defense lawyer for all 148 and that the trial only lasted 16 days.

The three witnesses for al-Bandar on Monday all acknowledged they had no connection to the Dujail case, and the chief judge in the Saddam trial, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, chided al-Bandar.

"The witnesses should have some connection to the Dujail case, people who worked with you during the case," he said.

"The accusations against me say that the court was not just, that it didn't allow any defense lawyers, I'm trying to address that," al-Bandar countered.

From the stand, the anonymous witness interjected: "The Revolutionary Court was better than any criminal court."

The day's second witness, also testifying anonymously, was a member of the army special forces who was jailed in 1982 for allegedly insulting Saddam and was put before the Revolutionary Court for trial.

"When I stood before al-Bandar, he asked me whether I have a lawyer," the witness said. "I said, 'No because I'm innocent your honor.' Then he called a lawyer to defend me and then I was found innocent."

The third witness, Galib Muttar Latif, was a retired policeman from Dujail, but had little to say about the Revolutionary Court. Instead, he asked Abdel-Rahman if he could greet Saddam, who sat nearby in the defendants' pen.

"This is a court and not a Baath Party meeting," Abdel-Rahman said with a laugh.

"All your relatives and mine, especially the Obeidat tribe, convey their salutations to you, Mr. President," Latif said, addressing Saddam who laughed, saying, "Well done, well done. Say hello to all of them and the Obeidat tribe."

The defense is in its third week of presenting witnesses in the 7-month-old trial of Saddam and his former regime officials. The eight face possible execution by hanging if convicted.

Monday's session went without the numerous outbursts that have marred the court in the past. In the last session, on Wednesday, Tariq Aziz - the highest ranking former member of Saddam's regime to testify so far - insisted that the government had no choice but to crack down on Dujail because the shooting attack on Saddam's motorcade was carried out by Iranian-backed guerrillas at a time when Iran and Iraq were at war.

U.S. officials observing the trial have said the proceedings could be wrapped up by late June, after which the court would adjourn to consider a verdict.

The Source

[Snowden]

Of course defense witnesses defend - that's what they do.

We've heard from the Shi'ites and Kurds? And this man's history is rather well known. If they turn him loose, I figure that's a death sentence.

[Forlorn Hope]

Sadam was never a leader or statesman for his country; he was a gangster with an army. I hope he doesn't get off. I am sure he has squirreled some money away and I would hate to think of him living in a luxury condo next door to Edie Amine. Then again, he would probably suffer the same fate as Mussolini before he could get out of the county.

I have high hopes he spends the rest of life in the cell next to Manuel Noriega.

[Snowden]

Originally Posted by Forlorn Hope

Sadam was never a leader or statesman for his country; he was a gangster with an army. I hope he doesn't get off. I am sure he has squirreled some money away and I would hate to think of him living in a luxury condo next door to Edie Amine. Then again, he would probably suffer the same fate as Mussolini before he could get out of the county.

I have high hopes he spends the rest of life in the cell next to Manuel Noriega.

Well, I'm against the death sentence and all that good stuff, but this is one s.o.b. I would like to see "suffer the same fate as Mussolini," I'm afraid. Sometimes I fear for my own soul when somebody like Saddam is up for sentencing. He deserves exactly the same measure of mercy as he showed those men he had dropped into plastic chopping machines.

[Woodmonkey]

Originally Posted by Forlorn Hope

I have high hopes he spends the rest of life in the cell next to Manuel Noriega.

He should get an express ticket to hell by being executed. He's a monster who is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths.

[Snowden]

Saddam trial resumes, defense case to continue

The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven others accused of crimes against humanity resumed in Baghdad on Tuesday, with more defense witnesses expected to take the stand.


Eight witnesses -- including two of Saddam's former interior ministers -- took the stand on Monday, testifying for Saddam, his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants are accused of a crackdown that led to the execution of 148 Shi'ite men and teenagers from the town of Dujail following a failed assassination bid against him there in 1982.

If convicted, they face possible death by hanging.

Defense witnesses, initially for some of the lesser-known defendants, started taking the stand when the trial resumed on May 15 after a three-week recess following the completion of the prosecution case. The trial began in October.

All the defendants have pleaded not guilty, or like Saddam, were ruled to have so pleaded after contesting the U.S.-backed court's legitimacy.



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