BAGHDAD - Iraqâs parliament will this month debate a bill to reorganise the special court created by the previous US occupation authority to try Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, the deputy speaker said on Monday.
Deputy speaker Hussein Shahristani told deputies that the first reading of the draft legislation will take place July 20. âThe proposed legislation will be really comprehensive,â Mariam al-Rayes, a Shiite deputy sitting on parliamentâs judicial committee, told AFP. âWe want to speed up the date of Saddamâs trial, we hope it can be held before the referendum on the new constitution in October.â
Rayes said the new legislation deals with potential loopholes in the tribunalâs bylaws or elements that may contradict Iraqi law, but gave no further details.
| Let's do make sure the loopholes are closed. I want to watch Ramsey Clark sputter. |
Many Kurdish and Shiite MPs who dominate the national assembly have charged that the Iraqi Special Tribunal is controlled by the Americans, saying this has slowed up the process of bringing Saddam to trial.
| You want to try him today and hang him tomorrow, no skin off my fore. |
The MPs from communities long-oppressed under Saddamâs Sunni Arab-dominated regime also want all judges sitting on the tribunal vetted for links to Saddamâs former ruling Baath party.
According to Reyes, the bill is aimed at silencing those questioning the authority of the court which was first set up by former US administrator Paul Bremer before the handover of sovereignty to Iraqis in June 2004. âThe tribunal needs to derive its legitimacy from the ultimate legislative authority, which is parliament,â she said.
She said the credentials of the tribunalâs 30 investigative judges need to be reexamined for any affiliation to Saddamâs banned Baath party.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari, a Shiite who fought Saddamâs regime for years, has blamed the judges for the delay in starting the trial. The tribunal hit back recently saying it was solely responsible for setting a date for Saddamâs trial and it released several videotapes showing the former dictator and more than a dozen of his deputies being questioned by judges as proof that progress was being made in building up the cases against them.
A senior Kurdish deputy hoped the new legislation would be a prelude to speeding up the trial of Saddam and his lieutenants. âAt the moment, itâs all in the hands of America. We look at them as criminals who committed crimes against the Iraqi people, while America looks at them as a source of intelligence,â Mahmud Othman said.
| It's both. We'll continue to pump them until you try and hang them. How's that? |
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