Saddam lawyers demand security

2005-11-10 10:53

Baghdad - Saddam Hussein's lawyer said on Wednesday that the United States-led "occupation forces" bear some of the responsibility for the slaying of a second colleague in the trial, and the defence team signalled it might not show up for the next session without international security guarantees.

Khalil al-Dulaimi, head of Saddam's legal team, spoke a day after Adel al-Zubeidi, lawyer for former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan died in a hail of gunfire in west Baghdad.

Thamir al-Khuzaie, attorney for another co-defendant, Saddam's half brother Barazan Ibrahim, was wounded.

The attack followed the slaying last month of another defence lawyer, Saadoun al-Janabi, whose body was found with gunshot wounds the day after the trial begun on October 19.

Dangerous circumstances

The killings raised doubts about Iraq's ability to try the case, although the Iraqi government dismissed calls to move the venue or halt the trial. The second session was set for November 28.

The defence team said it considered the November date "null and void" in the wake of the attacks because of "the very dangerous circumstances that prevent the presence" of the attorneys "unless there is a direct, neutral international intervention that guarantees" security.

After the death of the first team member, the defence lawyers announced they had suspended further dealings with the special court, trying their clients until their security was guaranteed.

The latest statement appeared to harden that position in wake of the latest killing.

US obliged to protect lawyers

Abdel-Haq Alani, a key co-ordinator on the defence team, said the US was obliged to protect the lawyers as "the occupying power", a status the Americans said they didn't have since sovereignty was transferred to the Iraqis on June 28 2004.

Asked whether defence lawyers would be in court on November 28, Alani replied: "I believe not."

There was no reaction from the court to the latest statement. But, officials had said that if defence lawyers refused to appear, the tribunal could appoint a new team.

Al-Dulaimi, speaking in the insurgent hotspot of Ramadi, brushed aside the government suggestions that pro-Saddam insurgents or religious extremists were behind the killings.

Preserving people's lives

He said: "The occupation forces are responsible for this criminal act, and they bear the responsibility of preserving the lives of the people, regardless of their identity."

The "Iraqi government also has the responsibility to protect people and put an end to such actions".

He called on "all free people, the United Nations, the Arab League, Arab presidents and kings and the Arab Bar Association to shoulder the responsibility to face the tyranny of the criminal gangs that are targeting the country".

President Jalal Talabani condemned the assassination and urged the defence team to accept the government protection.

- AP