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Defense lawyer in Saddam trial abducted
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-10-21 06:30
Iraq's powerful Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi was present when he was
released, Carroll added.
Saddam and the seven others went on trial on Wednesday but swiftly won an
adjournment to November 28 to hone their defense after they pleaded not guilty;
they all face the death penalty.
SECURITY COMPLAINTS
Defense lawyers want to bring in leading foreign attorneys to help them in a
trial that has gripped Iraq and the world; Iraq's government and its U.S.
sponsors say the process will be fair, helping Iraqis put their troubled past
behind them and demonstrating that its new democracy can work.
It was not clear if the kidnapping would deter foreign lawyers from coming or
lead to further calls for adjournment.
It may add to complaints that confrontation verging on civil war between
Saddam's once dominant Sunni Arab minority and the Shi'ite-led government is not
compatible with a fair trial.
Kidnapping for political motives or money is rampant; Sunni insurgents and
Shi'ite militias are both accused of killings.
Bander, in a plain white traditional robe, sat at Saddam's right hand in
court on Wednesday, loudly demanding and then donning a checkered Arab headscarf
as proceedings got under way.
He is accused for overseeing the trials of dozens of Dujail men who were
sentenced to death in the wake of the incident. His defense is expected to argue
he was simply upholding the law.
In three hours of televised courtroom exchanges, the ousted Iraqi president
harangued the Kurdish judge and tussled with his guards. Thursday's newspapers
were filled with coverage. "The people are victorious over a tyrant," read one
banner headline.
The judge, who has risked revenge attacks by appearing on television to try
Saddam, told Reuters the court also needed time to persuade witnesses who were
"scared" to testify.
One who will definitely give evidence shortly is a former intelligence
officer in Dujail who is dying of cancer. The presiding judge, Rizgar Amin, told
Reuters he would soon testify in hospital in case he died or was too ill to
appear in court.
"Wadah al-Sheikh is one of the main witnesses; we are going to get his
testimony, maybe next week," the judge said. "He is in hospital and very sick
with cancer so we have to go to him."
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