Saddam trial: 'Not enough time'

2005-09-05 10:13

Baghdad - Saddam Hussein's defence team complained it will not have enough time to prepare for his trial as the government officially set October 19 for the start of proceedings that could end with the execution of Iraq's former dictator.

Meanwhile, United States troops killed seven insurgents on Sunday in Tal Afar, including six who fired at the Americans from a mosque, the US command said. Iraqi officers said well-armed insurgents controlled the centre of Tal Afar and their ranks included fighters from Yemen, Syria, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.

A legal adviser to Saddam's family, Abdel-Haq Alani, said that starting the trial next month would "undercut the defence capability to review the case".

He was reacting to an announcement by the chief government spokesperson, Laith Kubba, that Saddam and seven former henchmen would be tried on October 19 in the 1982 massacre of 143 Shiite Muslims in Dujail near Baghdad.

Iraq constitution

Kubba's announcement confirmed unofficial reports that the first trial of Saddam and key lieutenants would begin just days after the October 15 national referendum on Iraq's constitution.

Trying Saddam so soon after the referendum could further inflame sectarian tensions among Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs, many of whom oppose the draft charter.

If convicted, Saddam and the others could receive the death penalty.

Alani said the defence had received no official notice about the date, but complained that if October 19 was the start, it would not leave enough time to prepare.

"How can one review thousands and thousands of pages in just a matter of a few days?" he said. "This court has been deliberating with the evidence for the past year, but it has been keeping it away from the defence, which is not fair."

The co-defendants include Barazan Ibrahim, the ousted regime's intelligence chief and Saddam's half brother; and former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan. The others are lesser figures in the Saddam-era intelligence services or ruling Baath Party.

A series of cases against Hussein

Rather than lump all charges against Saddam into one mammoth, time-consuming trial, Iraqi authorities have opted for a series of cases focusing on specific atrocities.

Iraq's Shiite- and Kurdish-dominated government is convinced that speedy trials for Saddam will expose crimes of his regime and undercut support for him within the Sunni-dominated insurgency.

In other developments on Sunday:

- A roadside bomb exploded as a repair crew fixed a pipeline leak near Kirkuk, killing one technician and injuring another.

- A pair of drive-by shootings in Baghdad killed four people.

- A suicide car bomber struck an Iraqi police checkpoint near Iskandariyah south of Baghdad, killing one policeman and injuring two.

- Saboteurs blasted a pipeline that carries fuel from Beiji to an electric power station in Baghdad.

- AP