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Saddam Hussain trial may be over quick
Iraqi rulers want the Saddam Hussain trial expedited.
BY A CORRESPONDENT
3 September 2005: Saddam Hussain, the arrested former President of Iraq will go on trial on October 19. This is notwithstanding protests by Saddam Hussain's lawyer, who said he will take "years" to even go through the 30-tonne evidence against former dictator Sadddam Hussain.
In any case, the defence does not accept the legitimacy of the interim administration or the court to rule on the fate of Sadda Hussain, the former President of Iraq.
An Iraqi government notification said the Saddam Hussain trial will start on October 19, 2005, for the massacre of 143 Shiites, who were killed in retaliation for a failed assasination bid on the life of Saddam Hussain in 1982.
Iraqis go to a referendum on October 15, to decide whether to accept or reject the new constitution being put in place by the new administration. A rejection of the Constitution will be a setback to the Saddam Hussain trial, but the authorities dismiss such a chance. Many in the Sunni community, to which Saddam Hussain belongs, are against the Iraqi Constitution, and plan to vote it down.
The Saddam Hussain trial will have three of the dictator's associates as well, who have been accused in the massacre case. The massacre happened at Dujail north of Baghdad.
There are several other charges pending against former Iraqi Saddam Hussain. These include the gassing of Kurds, suppressing a Shiite uprising and invasion of Kuwait. Any of these could bring death penalty for Saddam Hussain at the trials. A dozen trials on Saddam are believed to be pending. The Iraqi rulers have decided to press one charge at a time, instead of clubbing all of Saddam Hussain's offences in one trial.
However, if the court gives death penalty to Saddam Hussain over the Dujail massacre case, the other cases against him may not come up for hearing at all.
Saddam Hussain's legal counsel has refused to accept the authority of the Iraqi rulers, court or the Constitution and have steadfastly refused to appear before the special court set up to try Saddam Hussain.
During the Allied occupation, death penalty had been scrapped in Iraq, but the Iraqi rulers reinstated the provision so that Saddam Hussain could be executed for 'crimes against humanity.'
Saddam Hussain's legal camp has been in a disarray recently, with the former dictator firing his international legal defence team. Now, Iraqi lawyer Khalil Dulaimi is representing Saddam Hussain.
Last week, Iraq hanged three criminals for crimes committed during Saddam Hussain's presidency. Government lawyers have been gunning for Saddam's death sentence for some time now.
A quick trial of Saddam Hussain is expected, which may end in a few weeks' time rather than months or years. In contrast, the long-drawn trial of former Yugoslavian leader Slobodan Milosevic took years. Iraqi authorities seem to be in a mood to dispense justice quick. Lawyers' attempts to delay the Saddam Hussain trial may meet with a stonewall.
BY A CORRESPONDENT
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