Judge Orders Saddam Out of Court

20/09/2006| IslamWeb

Saddam Hussein has been ordered out of court by the new chief judge at his genocide trial in Baghdad.

The former Iraqi leader refused to sit down in protest at the appointment of Muhammad al-Ureibi and was ejected.

The entire team of defence lawyers then walked out as well and the court continued its proceedings without them.

The previous trial judge was replaced on Tuesday when the government accused him of bias towards Saddam "when he described him as not being a dictator".

Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants are facing war crimes charges in relation to the Anfal military campaign in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq in the late 1980s.

"The government of Iraq feels the judge is no longer neutral as could be seen when he described Saddam as not being a dictator," a statement by the cabinet said.

Some trial observers criticised what they saw as interference by the government preventing Saddam Hussein from being given a fair trial.

Human Rights Watch legal expert Nehal Bhuta said the judge's removal was "a blatant violation of the independence of the court", in comments quoted by AFP.

A statement by the defence team said they would not return until the government stopped "interfering in the trial".

PHOTO CAPTION

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein while the prosecutor addresses the court during his trial in Baghdad, September 19, 2006. (Reuters)

BBC