Thread: Defiant Saddam pleads not guilty

Defiant Saddam pleads not guilty

Saddam Hussein's trial has begun in Baghdad with the ousted Iraqi leader defiantly questioning the validity of the court before pleading not guilty.

He refused to confirm his identity telling the presiding judge: "Who are you? What does this court want?"

All eight defendants pleaded not guilty to charges of ordering the killing of 143 Shia men in 1982. If convicted, they could face the death penalty.

After just over three hours, the trial was adjourned until 28 November.

Scuffle

The trial began in an imposing marble building that once served as the National Command Headquarters of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party, in the heavily fortified Green Zone in the Iraqi capital.

TV pictures showed Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants being led into pens in the courtroom.

The 68-year-old former leader was wearing a dark suit with an open-necked shirt and carried a copy of the Koran.

As he was being led in by two guards, he gestured with his hand to slow them down.

Asked to confirm his name by chief judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, a Kurd, Saddam Hussein refused.

"Have you ever been a judge before?" Saddam said.

Amid some verbal sparring with the judge, the former Iraqi leader stated: "I preserve my constitutional rights as the president of Iraq. I do not recognise the body that has authorised you and I don't recognise this aggression.

"What is based on injustice is unjust ... I do not respond to this so-called court, with all due respect."

Later, as the trial adjourned, he was involved in what appeared to be a scuffle with the guards who wanted to grab his arms to escort his out.

But this appeared to be for the benefit of the media, reports the BBC's John Simpson from inside the courtroom.

The case concerns the rounding up and execution of 143 men in Dujail, a Shia village north of Baghdad, following an attempt there on Saddam Hussein's life.

Saddam Hussein's co-accused are Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, his half-brother who was his intelligence chief; former Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan; Awad Hamed al-Bandar, a former chief judge; and Dujail Baath party officials Abdullah Kadhem Ruaid, Ali Daeem Ali, Mohammed Azawi Ali and Mizher Abdullah Rawed.

Some of the co-accused were equally defiant when questioned by the judge.

More charges?

The trial is being presided over by five judges, with Mr Amin in overall charge. The identities of judges had been kept secret to ensure their safety, but Mr Amin's name was revealed by US officials just before the trial began.

A small number of observers and journalists were allowed in the courtroom, but the public has been excluded.

The case is the first of many expected to be brought against the former Iraqi leader.

Court officials say the case was chosen because it was the easiest and quickest case to compile.

Prosecution lawyers are also expected to bring charges concerning the gassing of 5,000 people in the Kurdish village of Halabja in March 1988, and the suppression of a Shia revolt following the first Gulf War.

Rights concerns

Human rights groups have expressed concerns about the trial.

A Human Rights Watch report says the Iraqi Special Tribunal "runs the risk of violating international standards for fair trials".

Amnesty International has sent three delegates to Baghdad to ensure Saddam Hussein receives a fair trial, and to oppose the death penalty if he is found guilty.

Saddam Hussein was captured in 2003 after the American-led invasion of Iraq.

Before the trial opened, two mortars landed in the Green Zone, without causing casualties or damage.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4355992.stm