The genocide trial of Saddam Hussein was once again thrown into chaos Wednesday when the chief judge ejected a key defence lawyer only to recall him later in the day. Soon after proceedings began, Judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah ordered the arrest of Badie Aref, always a vocal presence in the trial, for “violating professional conduct”. Aref is defending Farhan al-Juburi, the former head of military intelligence in northern Iraq and one of seven accused of killing thousands of Kurds in 1988 during the military campaign.Khalifah clashed with Aref over the manner in which he was addressing the court. The stormy session began with Aref making a statement before the court, but when he referred to the prosecutor as “brother” the prickly judge took offence. “I warned your colleagues yesterday twice to respect the court and its officials,” said Khalifah, who objected to the informality of the term.
Aref insisted that the information he wanted to give was more important than the form of address and then used the word “brothers” again to refer to the prosecutors. The judge then ordered him to be ejected. Aref protested to the judge’s order after which Oreibi said “You are arrested for 24 hours for violating professional conduct.” But later in the day Juburi asked the judge to recall Aref. “We want that the sessions continue normally till the end and demand you to cancel the decision against Badie Aref,” Juburi said to the judge. “Let him attend the sessions.” The judge then accepted his demand. But Aref later left the court.