Pressure mounts on Saddam judge to reconsider quitting

BAGHDAD – Pressure mounted Sunday on the Iraqi judge presiding over the trial of ousted dictator Saddam Hussein to stay in the job after he submitted his resignation in the face of criticism of his handling of the case.

Rizkar Mohammed Amin, a chief judge on the Iraqi High Tribunal, handed in his notice on January 10, according to an official close to the court, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Efforts are underway to try to get him to change his mind,” he told AFP, adding that the resignation had not yet been accepted.While the trial has taken up only seven courtroom days since it started on October 19, Amin has come under pressure both at home and abroad for allowing what critics see as theatrics by the defence counsels and the accused.Amin would be the second judge on the five-strong panel trying Saddam and seven former aides to quit since the trial began in a high-security courtroom in Baghdad’s Green Zone.A spokeswoman for the office of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, who is currently out of the country, confirmed that his chief of staff received Amin’s letter of resignation a few days ago.Several other judges from the tribunal travelled to Amin’s home city of Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan on Saturday in a bid to persuade him to reconsider, said a source close to the Kurdish judge, also on condition of anonymity.Amin is the only judge in the Saddam trial who has allowed himself to be identified in court.The other four remain anonymous for fear of reprisals for taking part in the high-profile case.Two defence lawyers were shot dead shortly after the opening of the trial.Amin wants to step down because of strong criticism by politicians at the way he has allowed the former president and his seven co-defendants to speak out in court and disrupt proceedings, the official close the tribunal said.The eight men are charged with crimes against humanity for ordering the massacre of more than 140 Shiites from the town of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt on the former Iraqi leader.Saddam and his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti have repeatedly sought to disrupt proceedings, with the former Iraqi leader alleging he was tortured in detention by US forces.But supporters of Amin say he has sought to give the defendants, who face a possible death penalty, as much leeway as possible in a bid to ensure the process is seen as fair.Saddam’s leading counsel Khalil al-Dulaimi welcomed the news of Amin’s resignation offer, but said it made no difference to the case as the defence team considered the court illegal.The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 24.Away from the judicial drama, political parties representing Iraq’s Shiite majority, Sunni Arab minority and the Kurds were still waiting to learn the results of the parliamentary election exactly one month ago.Initial indications showed that Shiite parties came out on top, but final results have been delayed by inquiries into a raft of complaints by Sunni-backed and secular parties of election fraud.An independent team of monitors has been checking the election results as well as the complaints and how Iraq’s electoral commission handled them.It was due to issue an interim report on its findings on Sunday.But Mazen Chouaib, director of field operations for the International Mission for Iraqi Elections, said the group “has decided to issue its findings all at once on January 19 because the work has progressed so quickly.”A positive assessment by the experts will give further credibility to the electoral commission, which has faced criticism of being biased.The commission said on Saturday it would wait for the monitors’ report before revealing final, but uncertified results.It is doubtful that the ultimate certified results will be known before the end of the month because of an appeals period and other technical matters.In other developments, Iraq’s justice ministry said 509 detainees were being released on Sunday after being cleared of terror-related charges.They include two local journalists from Reuters, the news agency said.There are currently about 10,000 detainees held in Iraq.Meanwhile, US marine was found dead on Saturday on a base in western Iraq “from an apparent non-hostile gunshot wound,” the military said.-Nampa-AFP”Efforts are underway to try to get him to change his mind,” he told AFP, adding that the resignation had not yet been accepted.While the trial has taken up only seven courtroom days since it started on October 19, Amin has come under pressure both at home and abroad for allowing what critics see as theatrics by the defence counsels and the accused.Amin would be the second judge on the five-strong panel trying Saddam and seven former aides to quit since the trial began in a high-security courtroom in Baghdad’s Green Zone.A spokeswoman for the office of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, who is currently out of the country, confirmed that his chief of staff received Amin’s letter of resignation a few days ago.Several other judges from the tribunal travelled to Amin’s home city of Sulaimaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan on Saturday in a bid to persuade him to reconsider, said a source close to the Kurdish judge, also on condition of anonymity.Amin is the only judge in the Saddam trial who has allowed himself to be identified in court.The other four remain anonymous for fear of reprisals for taking part in the high-profile case.Two defence lawyers were shot dead shortly after the opening of the trial.Amin wants to step down because of strong criticism by politicians at the way he has allowed the former president and his seven co-defendants to speak out in court and disrupt proceedings, the official close the tribunal said.The eight men are charged with crimes against humanity for ordering the massacre of more than 140 Shiites from the town of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt on the former Iraqi leader.Saddam and his half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti have repeatedly sought to disrupt proceedings, with the former Iraqi leader alleging he was tortured in detention by US forces.But supporters of Amin say he has sought to give the defendants, who face a possible death penalty, as much leeway as possible in a bid to ensure the process is seen as fair.Saddam’s leading counsel Khalil al-Dulaimi welcomed the news of Amin’s resignation offer, but said it made no difference to the case as the defence team considered the court illegal.The next hearing in the case is scheduled for January 24.Away from the judicial drama, political parties representing Iraq’s Shiite majority, Sunni Arab minority and the Kurds were still waiting to learn the results of the parliamentary election exactly one month ago.Initial indications showed that Shiite parties came out on top, but final results have been delayed by inquiries into a raft of complaints by Sunni-backed and secular parties of election fraud.An independent team of monitors has been checking the election results as well as the complaints and how Iraq’s electoral commission handled them.It was due to issue an interim report on its findings on Sunday.But Mazen Chouaib, director of field operations for the International Mission for Iraqi Elections, said the group “has decided to issue its findings all at once on January 19 because the work has progressed so quickly.”A positive assessment by the experts will give further credibility to the electoral commission, which has faced criticism of being biased.The commission said on Saturday it would wait for the monitors’ report before revealing final, but uncertified results.It is doubtful that the ultimate certified results will be known before the end of the month because of an appeals period and other technical matters.In other developments, Iraq’s justice ministry said 509 detainees were being released on Sunday after being cleared of terror-related charges.They include two local journalists from Reuters, the news agency said.There are currently about 10,000 detainees held in Iraq.Meanwhile, US marine was found dead on Saturday on a base in western Iraq “from an apparent non-hostile gunshot wound,” the military said.
-Nampa-AFP