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Iraq
'Final day' for Saddam's defence
2006-06-13
The chief judge overseeing the trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has opened what he says will be the final day for defence witnesses to be heard. Judge Rauf Abdel Rahman urged the defence team to concentrate on witness testimony, not on "endless rhetoric". One of Saddam's seven co-defendants, his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti, was barred from court, having been thrown out the day before. The former Iraqi intelligence chief had called the judge a "dictator".

Judge Abdel Rahman said at the beginning of proceedings on Tuesday: "We have decided to exclude Barzan from today's session because of his repeated violations of the court rules." Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants are being tried in Baghdad for crimes against humanity in connection with the deaths of 148 Shia villagers in the 1980s. Recent sessions have been taken up with accounts by defence witnesses, but Judge Abdel Rahman said Tuesday's testimony would be the last.

"I want to tell the defence attorneys that we are not going to listen to their endless rhetoric," he warned. "The session is to present their witnesses. They have to choose one of the options - either rhetoric or witnesses."

The defence team has complained that it has not been allowed sufficient time to prepare and present its case. US lawyer Curtis Doebbler said on Monday that the defence was "at a serious disadvantage". "We want to work for justice, but that can only happen by having a fair trial and, under the current circumstances, that doesn't seem possible," Mr Doebbler said. He added that it took the prosecution more than five months to present its case, while the defence is being "rushed" to conclude within weeks. "Our witnesses have been intimidated by the court and have been assaulted," Mr Doebbler added.

Once witness testimony is wrapped up, the defence and prosecution will make their closing statements, and then the judges will retire to consider their verdict.
"Hanging, drawn and quartered, firing squad or all of the above?"
Posted by:Steve

#7  "US lawyer Curtis Doebbler said on Monday that the defence was "at a serious disadvantage"."

They sure are.

Their genocidal murdering bastard of a "client" is GUILTY.

Hang 'em high.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut   2006-06-13 22:32  

#6  You reject force.
They don't reject force.
You die.
End of your stupidity.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2006-06-13 22:21  

#5  Well, well. Lawyer Doebbler has a website. And it's got some interesting stuff in it.

Statement of Political Views
My Politics and Political Views

I am a pacifist in so far as I will not use force to achieve political ends and in principle I reject the use of force by both governmental and non-governmental actors. At the same time, I can understand the frustrations of those individuals who turn to the use of force when they or others with whom they identify are being oppressed and have no adequate means of legal recourse.

I strongly support the Social Justice Movement, which I view as the conglomeration of anti-globalists, human rights defenders, and anarchists who are striving for social change towards a world of greater equality. In this sense, I believe in a world of greater equality where no person or company can acquire such a disparity in wealth that others have less than the minimum that enables them to live meaningful lives. To this end I support actions to ensure the redistribution of wealth through governmental intervention as long as these efforts are not based on political biases and reflect the will of the majority of the people in any given country. And I support the intervention of the state to ensure education, health care, social welfare, a minimum income, and the protection of all fundamental human rights.

I ardently oppose American and more broadly western neo-imperialism which is being imposed through the exploitation of the majority of the people of the world and the economic and military dominance of the United States. I believe that all people have a right and a duty to take all necessary measures to end the United StatesÂ’ inhumane dominance of the lives of billions of people.

I believe in the right of all people to make an informed choice about their government and to participate in their government in a meaningful way. To achieve this I believe that it is necessary for every person to be guaranteed basic education according to their abilities, the basic health care that is needed to live a meaningful and quality life, and the basic means of subsistence.

I am committed to striving through all means possible and within my capabilities to ensuring that all people, everywhere in world have their human rights respected. To this end, I will employ all my abilities to further the cause of human rights for the most vulnerable, the poorest, and those who have been disenfranchised. The human rights upon which I base my commitment are those which have been accepted by consensus by the international community either in treaties to which particular states have become parties, or, those rights found under customary international law. I believe that human rights must reflect an international consensus and that they should be periodically reviewed with input from all sectors of society and through means that allow extremely broad participation so as to ensure that international human rights law reflects the claims, demands and expectations of the overwhelming majority of the people in the world.

I believe that international law provides a basis for peaceful coexistence. This, I believe, is only the case when states respect international law. When states violate international it is necessary that all steps be taken by all people to punish violating governments and to ensure that they respect international law. This, I believe, is especially important as concerns the most powerful countries in the world.

Finally, I am committed to upholding my beliefs through action and the support of othersÂ’ actions. Such action is the right and responsibility of every individual in the world. It is my particularly strong pledge to assist others, anywhere in the world, who are striving to protect the human rights of the most vulnerable persons in their societies.


...and that's why he's defending Saddam.
I think he's knows Ramsey's reaching the end of the trail and wants to assume the title of America's Leading Quack Lawyer when... well, you know...
Posted by: tu3031   2006-06-13 16:41  

#4  Bear says, "Hang Him!"
Posted by: doc   2006-06-13 14:00  

#3  Hanging is too good for Saddam.

He needs to be taken to downtown Helebçe and turned loose, so that the women of Helebçe can do to him what the women of Silêmanî did to the Ba'athî after they were thrown off the top of their security building in that city--kill him by cutting piece by piece of his flesh.
Posted by: Azad   2006-06-13 13:58  

#2  As long as Saddam is alive there will still be people who will resist the new govt. thinking he will somehow come back to power.
Posted by: Glavitle Crererong6298   2006-06-13 10:30  

#1  I keep reading that there are other trials planned for Saddam after this. I hope that they just hang him after this trial and get it over with.
Posted by: 11A5S   2006-06-13 09:54  

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