History Of Saddams Trials
On June 30, 2004, Saddam Hussein (held in custody by U.S. forces at Camp Cropper in Baghdad), and 11 senior Ba'athist officials were handed over legally[citation needed] (though not physically) to the interim Iraqi government to stand trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Particular attention will be paid to his activities in violent campaigns against the Kurds in the north during the Iran-Iraq War, and against the Shiites in the south in 1991 and 1999 to put down revolts.
On July 1, 2004, the first legal hearing in Saddam's case was held before the Iraqi Special Tribunal. Broadcast later on Arabic and Western television networks, it was his first appearance in footage aired around the world since his capture by U.S. forces the previous December.
On July 18, 2005, Saddam was charged by the Special Tribunal with the first of an expected series of charges, relating to the mass killings of the inhabitants of the village of Dujail in 1982 after a failed assassination attempt against him.
On August 8, 2005, the family announced that the legal team had been dissolved and that the only Iraq-based member, Khalil al-Duleimi, had been made sole legal counsel. [33]
On November 8, 2005, Adel al-Zubeidi a defense attorney during the Hussein Trials on the legal team representing Taha Yassin Ramadan was killed.
On November 28, 2005, Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin adjourned the trial until December 5 to allow time to find replacements for two defense lawyers who were slain and another who fled Iraq after he was wounded.
On December 5, 2005 and December 6, 2005, Hussein and his lawyers vehemently opposed the authority of the court; the lawyers walked out, and Saddam told the judge to "Go to hell." [34]
On January 23, 2006, Rauf Rashid Abd al-Rahman was nominated interim chief judge of the tribunal. [35] He replaced former chief judge Rizgar Amin, also a Kurd, who resigned after complaining of government interference.
On March 15, 2006, Saddam was called by the prosecution as a witness. On the stand, he made several political statements, saying he was still President of Iraq and calling on Iraqis to stop fighting each other and instead fight American troops. The judge turned off Saddam's microphone and closed the trial to the public in response. [36].
On June 21, 2006, the chief defense attorney for Hussein and his brothers, Khamis al-Obeidi, was kidnapped and killed. [37]. Hussein began a hunger strike in protest to the assassination, which he quit by June 23. [38]
On July 13, 2006, it was reported that Saddam and "other former regime members" had begun another hunger strike on July 7 to protest the lack of fairness in their trial including the murder of defense lawyer Khamis al-Obeidi. By July 23, 2006, he was taken to the hospital and force-fed by tube [39]. He later claimed this to have been against his will [40].
On September 15, 2006, The chief judge Abdullah al-Amiri, a Shiite Arab, told the ex-president, "You were not a dictator." Demands from Kurdish and Shiite officials for his removal followed; the judge already had rejected prosecution demands that he step down for allegedly favoring the defense [41]. He was soon replaced by Mohammed al-Uraibiy, al-Amiri's court deputy and also a Shiite Arab, replaced al-Amiri as a chief judge. [42]
Saddam as he is being sentencedOn November 5, 2006, Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity in ordering the deaths of 148 Shi'ite villagers in the town of Dujail in 1982 and sentenced to death by hanging. His half brother and the judge at the trial of the original case in 1982 were also convicted of similar charges. When the judge announced the verdict, Saddam shouted "God is great!" and "Long live Iraq. Long live the Iraqi people! Down with the traitors!" [43] [44] [45] [46]. According to the New York Times, Saddam Hussein's verdict and sentence would "come under review by the nine-judge appellate chamber of the trial court. There is no time limit for the appeal court's review, but Iraqi and American officials who work with the court said that the earliest realistic date for Saddam Hussein's execution, assuming it stood up to review, would be next spring." [47] Iraqi law requires executions to take place within 30 days of the end of the appeal process; however it also forbids the executions of people aged over 70 years old, a status Saddam Hussein acquires on 28 April 2007. [48]
On December 26, 2006, Iraq's highest appeals court upheld Saddam's verdict and sentence, leaving the former leader with few if any options. The court argued again that the verdict must be implemented "within 30 days," according to chief judge Aref Shahin. "From tomorrow, any day could be the day of implementation. Noting that "Iraqi law requires executions to take place within 30 days of the end of the appeal process. (The 30th day is January 26, 2007)" [49]
On December 28, 2006, Iraqis have requested the transport of Hussein from the U.S. Military to Iraq for the execution in the next 48 hours. Iraqi execution personnel have said they want to execute Hussein before Monday, the day of Eid. [50]
