Rights groups urge fairness in Saddam trial

Deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants, whose trials in Iraqi law courts have recently resumed, must be guaranteed a fair trial and respect for their civil liberties, say rights groups. “Saddam has to be tried,” said Nicole Choeiry, spokeswoman for human-rights watchdog Amnesty International. “But in the meantime, he and all other prisoners should have their human rights respected while in prison and have the right to meet with lawyers to ensure due process.” The trial was adjourned on Monday, the same day it resumed after more than a month’s hiatus, for a one-week period to allow the accused parties to replace two lawyers murdered in recent weeks. Citing safety concerns, the legal defence team had earlier threatened to boycott the proceedings, but decided to carry on after receiving security guarantees. Saddam, along with his co-defendants, have been charged with crimes against humanity in relation to the deaths of 148 men from the town of Dujail, some 60 km north of the capital, Baghdad, in 1982. They deny all the charges. The former president could also face accusations of using poison gas against villages suspected of supporting Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq in 1988 and of brutally suppressing Shi'ite uprisings in southern Iraq in 1991. New York-based lobby group Human Rights Watch declared recently that Saddam, who ruled Iraq with an iron fist, had been responsible for the deaths of “several hundred thousand people” over the course of his time in power. Many of his victims’ bodies were found in mass graves shortly after his overthrow by US-led coalition forces in April 2003. During Monday’s proceedings, Saddam complained of poor treatment while in prison, as members of his legal team criticised the overall fairness of the trial. “Saddam is unhappy with the treatment he is getting in prison,” said Khalil al-Dulaimi, one of Saddam’s lawyers. “International human rights organisations should intervene to guarantee his safety.” Last month, Human Rights Watch expressed concern that Saddam’s international team of lawyers would be unable to mount its case “in conditions equal to those enjoyed by the prosecution,” and that judges were likely to entertain political biases. Saddam, along with seven former senior officials of his Ba’ath regime, is being tried by a Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal – established expressly for the occasion – under a blend of Iraqi and international law. The trial is taking place in a former palace that once served as Saddam’s military command centre in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone.