Saddam Judge: No More Defense Witnesses

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – The judge declared an end to the defense phase of Saddam Hussein’s trial on Tuesday, shrugging off protests from the former Iraqi leader’s lawyers that they have not had a fair chance to present their case and want to put more witnesses on the stand.The nearly 8-month-old trial now moves into closing arguments, with the prosecution starting Monday, followed by the defense starting July 10. That means the judges could call a recess as early as mid-July to consider verdicts in the case against Saddam and seven of his former regime members for alleged crimes against humanity.The eight could face execution by hanging if convicted on charges they ordered and carried out a crackdown on Shiites in the town of Dujail in the 1980s, arrested hundreds including women and children, tortured some to death and altogether killed 148 people accused of a shooting attack on Saddam in the town.It is not known how long the judges’ deliberations will take. But the judge’s declaration Tuesday suggests the court is pushing to wrap up what has been a tumultuous trial _ with two defense lawyers killed early on, the replacement of the chief judge halfway through and frequent scenes of shouting and guards hustling defendants or defense lawyers out of the courtroom.One co-defendant, former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, was barred from Tuesday’s session after the judge threw him out of the court the day before for arguing.Many in Iraq’s Shiite majority and Kurdish minority, in particular, are eager to see Saddam go to the gallows after his regime’s repression of their communities.But it could take months even if such a verdict and sentence are handed down: The defendants have a right to appeal, and Saddam is due for a second trial in connection with a military campaign against Kurds in the 1980s.Questions of fairness are also likely to dog a tribunal, which U.S. and Iraqi officials hoped would show that justice can heal the Sunni-Shiite rifts left by Saddam’s regime. Many Sunnis see the trial more as a case of “victors’ justice” implemented by the new Shiite and Kurdish leaders and backed by the Americans.The defense on Tuesday pressed its protests that it has been at a severe disadvantage throughout the trial. But they were perfunctorily cut off by chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman, who declared that the defense case was over.When one of Saddam’s lawyers, Khamis al-Obeidi, said he wanted to bring more “effective and useful” witnesses to the stand, Abdel-Rahman told him: “For your client alone, you’ve presented 26 witnesses. If after 26 witnesses you can’t prove his innocence _ according to your words _ then 100 witnesses will be the same situation.”“I have finished with hearing witnesses. You have presented your testimony. We will evaluate it, we will examine every word said, and God willing it will be fine,” the judge said.“God willing,” al-Obeidi said sullenly.The burden of the proof is effectively on the defense, because the judge announced his accusations against Saddam and the seven others before the defense started its case in April.Abdel-Rahman has previously told the defense he is not required to accept all their witnesses, only those he believes to be relevant to the case. Many witnesses have repeated similar testimonies _ including three former Saddam bodyguards who appeared Tuesday.Since taking over the trial in January, Abdel-Rahman has taken a tough line to end outbursts by Saddam and Ibrahim that many observers criticized his predecessor for allowing. But he has also shut down defense attempts to question the fairness of court procedures _ raising accusations that he is biased.When defense lawyers argued Tuesday that they have not had the freedom to present their case properly, Abdel-Rahman was dismissive.“We haven’t been able to consult with our clients alone,” lawyer Wadud Fawzi said. “For 58 days we haven’t been able to even meet with our clients. … We can’t exchange any documents with them, and that is an impediment to the defense.”Chief defense lawyer Khalil al-Duleimi complained that investigating judges who gather evidence for the trial have failed to provide documents the defense requested “that could help acquit our clients.”“The defense team does not have the capability to search out documents, and the investigators have not agreed to gather the documents the defense has requested,” he said. “This is a basic element of the case.”“Get to the point, get to the point,” Abdel-Rahman snapped. “You have put so many motions to the court, it would take more time to consider these motions than to hear the case itself.”The prosecution has drawn archives of the Saddam regime captured by U.S. and Iraqi forces. It produced more documents Tuesday, including ones allegedly with signatures by one defendant, Taha Yassin Ramadan, ordering land confiscated from Dujail residents.The defense does not appear to have had the same access to the archives. It has repeatedly asked for documents, including transcripts of the 1984 trial that sentenced the 148 Shiites to death.Abdel-Rahman ordered the arrest of four defense witnesses last month, accusing them of perjury. The defense claims he was trying to silence their testimony that some of the 148 Shiites are alive.On Monday, alleged confessions of the four witnesses were read in court, admitting they committed perjury either because they were intimidated by Saddam loyalists or offered rewards.The defense said the witnesses were beaten to force the confessions.An American lawyer on the defense team, Curtis Doebbler, said the confessions cast doubt on the court’s fairness. They “were taken under coercive pressure from witnesses who have been beaten and arrested, held incommunicado,” he said. “Reading those into the record indicates bias in any court in the world.”Abdel-Rahman smiled derisively during Doebbler’s comments, muttering, “We know his purpose. He’s come to hear his own voice and claim that he’s an international lawyer.”

Saddam Judge: No More Defense Witnesses

Saddam Judge: No More Defense Witnesses

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