Nothing Like That Happened

A smart way of taking the initiative, I suppose – and throwing into doubt the possibility of Saddam getting a fair trial:

Saddam Hussein’s lawyers are refusing to take part in any further legal proceedings until the Iraqi tribunal acknowledges a physical attack on the former dictator and guarantees the safety of all defendants and attorneys, one of his legal team said yesterday.

Members of Saddam’s defence team claimed on Saturday that the former Iraqi president was attacked during a court appearance last week.

The Iraqi government and court officials deny the claim. But lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi, who attended the court appearance, insisted the allegation was true and demanded the government acknowledges it. He also insisted the Iraqi special tribunal apologise for the incident, guarantee the safety of Saddam and other former regime figures during future appearances, and punish the alleged attacker. Mr Dulaimi said Saddam’s lawyers would stop attending any further proceedings “until our demands are met”.

In Jordan, Saddam’s legal team said in a statement that a man burst out from those gathered in the courtroom and tried to hit Saddam as the ousted leader was leaving after a 45-minute hearing.

“There was an exchange of blows between the man and the president,” the statement said, also claiming the judge overseeing the hearing did nothing to stop the assault.

The Iraqi government and the special tribunal issued statements declaring that no such incident took place.

From the BBC:

“As Saddam Hussein’s lawyer and on behalf of all the defence team, we announce the boycott of the Iraqi Special Tribunal until they make a formal apology for the incident, and the person who committed that disgraceful act is brought to justice,” Mr Dulaimi said.

Saddam Hussein’s legal team said the former president was attacked as he was leaving the courtroom following questioning last Thursday.

Mr Dulaimi told Reuters: “A man… his name is Tahseen, I think he is a reserve investigative judge of the Special Tribunal, stood up and walked towards the president [Saddam Hussein] as he was rising, grabbed his [Saddam Hussein’s] arm and tried to attack him.

“Those present intervened and ended the scuffle.”

At the time, a spokeswoman for detainee operations in Iraq denied the incident occurred.

“Nothing like that happened with Saddam whatsoever,” Lt Kristy Miller told Reuters news agency.