 Saddam Hussein's trial collapsed into chaos shortly after resuming Sunday, with one defendant dragged out of court and the defense team walking out in protest. The former Iraqi leader was then escorted out after he shouted "down with traitors" and refused his new court-appointed lawyers.
| "I don't like them! They smell funny! Bring me someone fragrant!" |
The new chief judge, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, pressed ahead with the proceedings even after the opening drama, hearing a prosecution witness, as he sought to assert tight control over the court.
| Sammy's tactics involve making him more important than the witnesses... |
Abdel-Rahman was installed as chief judge after his predecessor resigned amid complaints he was not doing enough to rein in Saddam's frequent courtroom outbursts. The stormy session was sure to increase doubts over the trial's fairness — a vital concern in a nation that is trying to reconcile its Sunni Arab minority, which dominated Iraq under Saddam, and the Shiite Muslim majority that now controls the government.
| I still, after all these years, find it surprising that "fairness" and "justice" manage to diverge so widely in courtrooms. That's probably a result of my substandard education. |
Sunday's proceedings, the first in over a month, disintegrated almost immediately into shouting and insults. First, co-defendant Barzan Ibrahim was pulled out by guards after he stood and called the court "the daughter of a whore," while Saddam shouted "down with traitors" and "down with the Americans." Then Abdel-Rahman, a Kurd, threw out a defense attorneys for arguing with him. The rest of the defense team stormed out in protest as the judge shouted after after them, "Any lawyer who walks out will not be allowed back into this courtroom."
Abdel-Rahman appointed four new defense lawyers. But Saddam stood and rejected them. Holding a copy of the Quran and other papers under his arm, he said he wanted to leave. After an argument with the judge — during which guards pushed Saddam back into his chair — guards escorted the former Iraqi leader out of the room. Two other defendants also rejected their new lawyers and were allowed to leave. The proceedings then resumed with only four of the eight defendants present, and none of their original lawyers. |