US-taught lawyer to try Saddam
2004-04-22 09:17
Baghdad - The tribunal that will try former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has begun to take shape with the appointment of a 41-year-old US-trained Iraqi magistrate as head of the court.
Salem Chalabi, a graduate of Yale University, is the nephew of Ahmad Chalabi, a Shiite member of the US-appointed interim Governing Council known for his close links to the Pentagon and staunch opposition to Saddam's regime.
The council chose him last week to head the special court, Entifadh Qanbar, speaking for Ahmad Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress (INC) party, said on Tuesday.
Seven judges and five prosecutors were also named, Qanbar said, adding that the building that will house the court has also been selected and a budget earmarked for the trial.
But the date for the proceedings has yet to be set.
Saddam has been in detention since US forces captured him on December 13. US officials say he is somewhere in Iraq and will be tried by Iraqi judges.
A specialist in financial and international humanitarian law, Chalabi is a member of the New York Bar Association.
His appointment is for three years and he will set up the justice and appeals court as well as the prosecution, in line with the statutes of the special Iraqi tribunal that will judge the former regime's alleged crimes.
His duties also include setting up the infrastructure of the tribunal, finding adequate buildings and rehabilitating others, as well as selecting judges and prosecutors and guaranteeing their security.
"Several names have been suggested but we must make sure that they are honest people," Chalabi said.
The Iraqi Governing Council will designate the final selection of 25 judges and 35 examining magistrates.
"The nominations will be made within the next two months. In the meantime we are gathering documents and this will take several months," Chalabi said.
Charge sheets will be drawn up and presented next and "the trials will begin within five or six months," Chalabi said.
According to Qanbar the judges will be hired by the Iraqi authorities "not the Americans".
"They will be trained in international law, which they are not familiar with, by foreign judges and prosecutors," he said.
The special Iraqi tribunal will issue verdicts based on Iraqi law but international law will also be a tool in order to deal with crimes against humanity that are not recognised by the Iraqi penal code.
Crimes such as murder, torture and rape will be tried according to the 1969 penal code which was rehabilitated in June 2003, following the end of the US-led war, to remove the death penalty and articles introduced by the former regime.
The United States has earmarked $75m to the special tribunal.
"We will also get funds from the Iraqi budget," he said.
Chalabi had fled Iraq with his family in 1968 and returned to the country in April 2003, when the US toppled Saddam's regime.
Intelligence provided by his uncle, Ahmad Chalabi, helped the Pentagon prepare for the war on Iraq.