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        On the Heavier Side >> Government & Politics >> Saddam in Court
        
(Message started by: mylane on Jul 1^st, 2004, 4:29pm)

Title: Saddam in Court
Post by mylane on Jul 1^st, 2004, 4:29pm

Saddam Hussein appeared in Iraqi court on the morning of July 1, 2004

Quote:

Saddam Hussein, described by reporters at the hearing as both defiant and downcast, denounced the proceedings as "theatre" and questioned the validity of the law he was being tried under.

"I am Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq," he replied when asked to confirm his identity.

He was dressed mainly in black and arrived in handcuffs and with a chain around his waist.

During the hearing, Iraq's former president refused to concede that he had invaded Kuwait in 1990.

"How can you, as an Iraqi, say the 'invasion of Kuwait' when Kuwait is part of Iraq?" he asked the judge.

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by thebeast on Jul 5^th, 2004, 2:29am

I think they should take him out and hang him in front of everyone like he did so many people. I know its not the civilized thing or democratic thing to do, but he deserves it still the same. Listen if they need someone to shoot Saddam right between the eyes, I have no problem getting my 30/30 and doing it. He is right about the hearings being theatrical though. And this theater is gonna end with a bullet in his spineless cowardly brain. At least thats what I hope. What kind of president hides in a hole for months? The kind that knows perfectly well he has done wrong and isnt even man enough to put a bullet in his own head to save him the embarrasment he is suffering now. Oh yeah a president gets elected to office. A president dont go out and kill everyone who doesnt agree with him thats a dictator. Kuwait was part of Iraq at one time, but so was Iran and half of the middle east as well so I dont understand his arguement there. He wanted Kuwait cuz it was loaded with oil money and he knew he would have no problem running over them thats why he invaded Kuwait. Yes Saddam put the con in artist thats for sure.

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by mylane on Jul 5^th, 2004, 2:45am

Saddam is probably right to dispute the jurisdiction of the court. The Iraqis don't really have a functioning legal system, they don't have a sovereign government, and the bodies which are empowered to try people on such international charges as crimes against humanity aren't being involved.

There is also simply no way that Saddam is going to get a fair trial under present conditions. Too many commentators have prejudiced proceedings

I know many will gladly rush to urge saddam's death, but I really can't see the point in having a trial if it's going to just be a kangaroo court (no offense to Aussies).

If you just wanted to kill him, then you should have just shot him ages ago. But don't try to kid us all and make a mockery of the concept of justice at the same time.

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by thebeast on Jul 6^th, 2004, 4:13pm

Maybe so but its the right for everyone, even a cowardly spineless good for nothing dictator like Saddam, to have a trail. He deserves to squirm a little more anyway.

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by mylane on Jul 6^th, 2004, 4:33pm

For me it does look like a puppet court.

Saddam's chances are very slim considering he is literally being tried by his former political enemies, and U.S to back them up.

All they need to do is just marched him in, read all the charges, allowed him few minutes to speak then take him outside to a firing squad.

Anyway, whatever happens to him, won't affect the propaganda outcome of the war and the Iraqis insurgency is not going to die down soon. Just my thought.

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by norkay on Nov 27^th, 2004, 8:39am

Since the arrest of Saddam and brought to court,there have been many convincing evidences that he is not only a teacherous and ruthless leader of his country but also a risk factor that reaches far beyond the Iraqi border.How much longer can any civilized goverments tolerate Saddam's indifference to human rights? Personaly, I am thankful that the time of eliminating one of the world's most dangerous and evil dictator leaders has come! The war will prevail, and i think the WMD thing here which was the main reason of going to war is not only the most relevant matter here but we should also realize how big relief it will give to the world if Saddam is removed from power.Haven't we finally learned that the consequences of ignoring evil are far worse than unflinchingly confronting and quelling it? Whatever political statements they make,i still have this strong belief that Iraq's neighbors and all other civilized states would breath a lot easier if Saddam disappeared.....no matter how that came about! Just my thought,too ;) ;D

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by nelson3082000 on Nov 27^th, 2004, 1:56pm

put him out in front of the poeple and let them do the old style justice where they stone him to death,he kill ed far to many people and he deserves no trial just death

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by kim on Dec 6^th, 2004, 9:54am

they just want to do it legaly but we all know the ending of this story... saddam will get convicted and sentenced to death... Or atleast thats how it should go...

If it were up to me i'd make his death a slow an painfull one... Make him suffer and make him feel everything he did to the helpless people he killed... make him suffer.. make him suffer for years and years just like what he did to his people. then kill him....

aint i an angel? :P ;D ;)

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by nOrKAy on Jan 30^th, 2006, 12:24pm

Courtesy of ABC News

Saddam, Defense Team Walk Out of Trial
Sunday January 29, 2006 10:28am

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Saddam Hussein's trial turned chaotic shortly after resuming Sunday, with one defendant dragged out of court and the defense team walking out in protest. The former Iraqi leader was then escorted from the room after shouting "down with the Americans" and refusing his new court-appointed lawyers. Seeking to assert tight control, the new chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman pressed ahead with the proceedings even after the opening drama, hearing three prosecution witnesses before adjourning the trial after 4 1/2 hours.

Abdel-Rahman said the trial will continue Wednesday or Thursday, depending on the date of the Islamic new year, which is set according to the sighting of a new moon.

Abdel-Rahman was installed as chief judge after his predecessor resigned amid complaints he was not doing enough to rein in Saddam's frequent courtroom outbursts.

Defense lawyers said the stormy session showed the trial was not fair - a vital concern in a nation that is trying to reconcile its Sunni Arab minority, which dominated Iraq under Saddam, and the Shiite Muslim majority that now controls the government.

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who is part of Saddam's defense team but did not attend Sunday's session, denounced the court as "lawless" and repeated calls for it to be moved out of Iraq.

"Now the court is seated without the defendants' counsel of choice. This is wrong. They have the right to their own counsel and for that counsel to hear and question testimony made against the defendants," Clark said, speaking from New York.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants are charged in the deaths of about 140 Shiite Muslims following an assassination attempt against the former Iraqi leader in the Shiite town of Dujail in 1982. The defendants could face death by hanging if convicted.

Sunday's proceedings, the first in over a month, disintegrated almost immediately into shouting and insults.

First, co-defendant Barzan Ibrahim, who is Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence chief, was dragged out of the room by guards after he stood and called the court "the daughter of a sleeper." Saddam shouted "down with traitors" and "down with the Americans."

Then Abdel-Rahman, a Kurd, threw out a defense attorney for arguing with him. The rest of the defense team stormed out in protest as the judge shouted after them, "Any lawyer who walks out will not be allowed back into this courtroom."

Abdel-Rahman appointed four new defense lawyers. But Saddam stood to reject them and demand to leave the courtroom, holding a copy of the Quran and other papers under his arm.

"You do not leave, I allow you to leave when I want to," Abdel-Rahman said.

"For 35 years, I administered your rights," Saddam replied, referring to his time in power.

"I am the judge and you are the defendant," Abdel-Rahman responded. Two guards pushed Saddam back into his chair, before they were ordered to lead the ousted ruler from the room.

Title: Re: Saddam in Court
Post by nOrKAy on Jan 30^th, 2006, 12:25pm

Continuation

Two other defendants also rejected their new lawyers and were allowed to leave.

The proceedings then resumed with the four remaining defendants - and none of their original lawyers.

An anonymous female prosecution witness started the testimony, speaking for about an hour from behind a beige curtain, as several earlier witnesses have done to protect them from reprisals. The new defense lawyers declined the opportunity to cross-examine the witnesses or make statements.

The delayed television feed of the proceedings - which is controlled by the judges and broadcast throughout Iraq and the Arab world - was cut off after Ibrahim's initial outburst. It resumed later, cutting out the removal of Ibrahim and the subsequent fight with the lawyers but showing the judge's arguments with Saddam.

Abdel-Rahman obviously came into the session aiming to impose control on a trial that has been plagued by delays, the killing of two defense attorneys and the resignation of two judges, including Amin, since it began on Oct. 19.

The new judge stressed in an opening statement that "political speeches" were not allowed and "if any defendant crosses the lines, he will be taken out of the room and his trial will be carried out with his absence."

Abdel-Rahman's strong hand impressed some Iraqis.

"His seriousness shows that he is an efficient and controlling judge who refuses to turn the court into a field to exchange slanders," said Tariq Harab, an Iraqi lawyer not involved in the trial. "This is the right approach that should have been adopted right from the beginning."

Heading into Sunday's session, Saddam's defense team said they would file motions questioning the court's independence and legitimacy because of the shake-up among the judges. Former chief judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin resigned in mid-January after politicians complained about the slow pace of the proceedings.

The trial had been due to resume on Tuesday, but that session was abruptly canceled after some members of the five-judge panel opposed Abdel-Rahman's appointment over Amin's deputy, Saeed al-Hammash, who was removed the case amid accusations he once belonged to Saddam's Baath Party. Al-Hammash - a Shiite - denied the claims.

When testimony began, the first witness told the court she was arrested several days after the 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam. She said her interrogators removed her Islamic headscarf and gave her electric shocks to her head.

"I thought my eyes would pop out," she said. Sixteen other members of her family also were arrested, and seven of them were killed in detention - including her husband, who she said was tortured.

She said two of the defendants remaining in the courtroom - Ali Dayih Ali and Mizhar Abdullah Ruwayyid - were among those who arrested her. The two defendants denied the accusation.

A second woman gave similar testimony Sunday, saying she saw women tortured after she was detained. "I have seen things that I could not have believed. Children crying and mothers tortured. I've seen a blind girl crying while she was being tortured," she said, sobbing.

The day's final witness was a man, who said he was detained when he was six years old in the sweep that followed the attack on Saddam in Dujail.

Amin, the former chief judge and a Kurd, watched the trial from home in the northern city of Sulaimaniyah and questioned whether his critics could run the tribunal any better than he did.

"I am happy that I am no longer part of this trial. I am happy to watch it on television while sitting in my house," he told The Associated Press. "I wish the trial were run by a Shiite judge because I want to know how they are going to manage it."