With the trial of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity set to resume Tuesday, the court still had to decide on Monday who will be the chief judge.
For the last seven sessions Judge Rizkar Mohammed Amin has been the most public judicial face of the trial of Saddam and seven co-defendants over the massacre of Shi’ites from the town of Dujail in the 1980s.
But Amin announced his resignation earlier this month and court officials were still trying on Monday to persuade him to change his mind.
“Efforts are continuing to convince Rizkar Mohammed Amin to continue to preside over the court judging Saddam Hussein,” said investigating judge Raed al-Juhi.
The Cabinet has yet to accept the resignation.
Amin said in a letter he was stepping down after being criticized for being too lenient with the rowdy defendants and their repeated nationalist tirades condemning the court.
“The official position of the court has always been, since the time the letter was submitted, he is considered to be on leave,” said a Western official close to the court who suggested he might yet return.
If the resignation is accepted, the five-member court panel will vote on a new presiding judge, but in the meantime, the next most senior member of the panel, Said al-Hammashi, is expected to preside.
Hammashi, a Shi’ite, suggested in a recent interview with the Asharq al-Awsat newspaper he would take a tougher line with the defendants.
“It doesn’t matter who’s in the dock before me, a former president or someone else. What I’m interested in is seeing that justice is done,” he said.
“I intend on running hearings in line with the law and court rules.”
Like the rest of the panel, most of whom only became judges after the fall of Saddam’s regime, Hammashi was sent to Italy and Britain to learn more about crimes against humanity in preparation for the trial.
Within days of reports saying he would succeed Amin, Hammashi came under attack from the de-Baathification Committee established to root out members of Saddam’s former ruling party from official positions.
The committee claimed Hammashi was former active member of the Baath party and should not preside over the trial.
It was not the first time the committee has targeted the court.
“There was an effort made in July by the de-Baathification committee to remove members of the court, judges and prosecutors, who they were alleging were former members of the Baath party,” said the Western official.
“They ultimately backed off and there was an understanding that the de-Baathification committee did not have jurisdiction to issue orders against judges and prosecutors on the court.”
At the December 22 hearing, Saddam’s half brother and co-defendant Barzan al-Tikriti, the former head of the secret police, charged that the prosecutors, who had been criticising his court outbursts, were former Baathists.
Repeated outbursts by the defendants, who have denounced the court and claimed mistreatment at the hands of their jailers, have resulted in delays and have shifted the focus away from witness testimony, according to critics.
But in many cases the defendants’ statements have bolstered the case against them, the Western official suggested.
“Some of the defence were making incriminating statements,” he said. “It does cut both ways.”
The trial was to resume with more complainant witnesses, people who suffered at the hands of the regime during the incidents in Dujail, most of whom will likely have their identities disguised.
The harrowing testimony so far has detailed torture and abuse of detainees after hundreds of villagers were rounded following a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam.
The next series of witnesses will be those who can shed light on the events and could well include old members of the regime.
Finally the court will present documentary evidence seeking to link the defendants to the crimes against the people of Dujail. In the case of Saddam, the prosecution will seek to link him throught direct orders and general command responsibility.
After this phase, which should conclude in two to three weeks, the court will recess with the judges considering the evidence and drawing up more detailed charges, after which the prosecution and defense can present witnesses of their own.
Officials anticipate that the entire trial could stretch at least until late May or June, if there are no major delays. – AFP