'Assume Saddam is innocent'
2004-07-02 21:45
Jakarta - Saddam Hussein should be seen as innocent until a court in Iraq finds him guilty, United States secretary of state Colin Powell told students gathered for a discussion on Friday on the fate of the former Iraqi leader.
"I hope the people of the world and Indonesians will listen carefully to the charges that are being placed against this individual," said Powell, shortly after a regional security meeting in Jakarta.
"I think the people of the world should watch carefully, listen carefully. Assume he's innocent, if you will, and let's assume that. And let the Iraqi people, through their courts, decide."
Saddam was charged with seven crimes, including the massacre of Kurds and Shiite Muslims, and the invasion of Kuwait, during his first hearing before an Iraqi special tribunal on Thursday.
The ex-president remained defiant. He justified the invasion he ordered against Kuwait, refused to sign legal documents and called US President George W Bush the real villain.
Allowed to say his piece on TV
Powell added that Saddam was lucky not to have been tried under the notorious justice system of his own ousted regime, under which intimidation, torture and brutality were commonplace.
"What's amazing is that he was presented to the Iraqi people and to the world on television so he could say whatever he wanted to say, show his defiance.
"Can you imagine what it was like two years ago if he had arrested somebody? Do you think that person would have been considered innocent?
"Do you think that person would have ever been shown on television? Or would that person have been in a grave by now?"