Gaddafi's child to help Saddam

2004-07-03 13:32

Amman - The legal team appointed to represent deposed Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein by his family said on Saturday that it had been joined by a daughter of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's as it presses its case for access to its client.

"Dr Aisha Kadhafi is henceforth part of our team as she requested. I have sent her a letter confirming her retention as part of the team," lawyer Mohammed al-Rashdan said.

Rashdan said the team, which has so far been denied entry into Iraq let alone access to its client, had renewed its request with both Iraqi legal and US military authorities.

"We sent a formal request today (Saturday) to the Iraqi Bar Association," he said, adding that a similar request had been sent to US Colonel John Sharvel whom he described as "responsible for lawyers' visits to Iraq".

Rashdan said his team was still receiving death threats for taking on the case of the ousted dictator.

"We receive daily threats by telephone - they even threatened to blow up the block where my offices are, and other tenants received similar warnings."

Rashdan hit out at France for its recognition of the jurisdiction of Iraqi Special Tribunal before which Saddam was brought to hear capital charges on Thursday.

"We would love to know how France, a bastion of the rule of law, has come to that conclusion and on what basis it has conferred legitimacy on the court."

An French foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday that the return of sovereignty to an Iraqi government earlier in the week "ends any debate" about the tribunal's legitimacy.

Saddam himself has so far not indicated a choice of lawyer, although he rejected an offer of court-appointed counsel at Thursday's hearing.

- AFP