Prosecutor wants death penalty for Saddam

BAGHDAD – Chief prosecutor in the trial of Saddam Hussein Jaafar al-Mussawi yesterday demanded the death penalty for the ousted Iraqi president and two other defendants.

“We demand the maximum punishment (execution) for Saddam, (his half-brother) Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and (former vice president) Taha Yassin Ramadan,” Mussawi said in court as he rested his case. Saddam and seven other defendants are on trial for the killing of 148 Shi’ite civilians from the town of Dujail where the then president escaped an assassination attempt in 1982.The prosecutor asked that charges be dropped against one defendant – Mohammed Azzam Azzawi, a low-ranking official of Saddam’s Baath party in Dujail – and that he be released.Saddam and the seven others are accused of killing 148 Shi’ite civilians from the town of Dujail north of Baghdad after the then president escaped an assassination attempt there in 1982.In previous sessions, Abdel Rahman ordered defence witnesses to speed up their testimony, and often pulled up the defence attorneys.The judge signalled an end to the defence phase on June 13 even though defence lawyers had asked for more time to prepare their case.”I want to tell the defence attorneys that we are not going to listen to their endless rhetoric,” the judge said.”The session is to present their witnesses.They have to choose one of the options – either rhetoric or witnesses.”Abdel Rahman also barred Saddam’s half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, the former head of the secret police, from attending the June 13 hearing after he was removed from the court the previous day.That hearing saw a repeat appearance by Saddam’s other half-brother, Sabawi al-Tikriti, and his former bodyguards who testified for the defence.The bodyguards testified about the attempt on Saddam’s life in Dujail.The murder bid was followed by a wave of arrests, interrogations and ultimately the execution of 148 Shi’ites from the town Gunmen opened fire on the president’s convoy from the cover of orchards but Saddam forbade his security team from returning fire for fear of hitting innocent bystanders, the bodyguards said.”The president said there could be someone innocent in (the orchards) who could be hit by your firing, so stop shooting,” one testified.The hearing also featured a lengthy speech by defendant Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president.Ramadan said that a key item of evidence against him, a taped conversation in which he was told to destroy the orchards of Dujail, was faked, prompting prosecutors to submit four new documents supporting the charges against him.Three of the documents were letters linking Ramadan to the confiscation of land in Dujail, while the fourth was an order from Saddam to confiscate land without offering compensation to its owners.The lawyer for one of the Dujail victims told the trial yesterday: “The victims had not done anything against the unity and sovereignty of Iraq and the decision taken by the then court was illegal and violated the law.”The court passed the death sentence on the victims in just 16 days, which itself shows how artificial the court was.We demand maximum punishment for the defendants”.The lawyer was not identified and was not shown on camera for security reasons.- Nampa-AFPSaddam and seven other defendants are on trial for the killing of 148 Shi’ite civilians from the town of Dujail where the then president escaped an assassination attempt in 1982.The prosecutor asked that charges be dropped against one defendant – Mohammed Azzam Azzawi, a low-ranking official of Saddam’s Baath party in Dujail – and that he be released.Saddam and the seven others are accused of killing 148 Shi’ite civilians from the town of Dujail north of Baghdad after the then president escaped an assassination attempt there in 1982.In previous sessions, Abdel Rahman ordered defence witnesses to speed up their testimony, and often pulled up the defence attorneys.The judge signalled an end to the defence phase on June 13 even though defence lawyers had asked for more time to prepare their case.”I want to tell the defence attorneys that we are not going to listen to their endless rhetoric,” the judge said.”The session is to present their witnesses.They have to choose one of the options – either rhetoric or witnesses.”Abdel Rahman also barred Saddam’s half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, the former head of the secret police, from attending the June 13 hearing after he was removed from the court the previous day.That hearing saw a repeat appearance by Saddam’s other half-brother, Sabawi al-Tikriti, and his former bodyguards who testified for the defence.The bodyguards testified about the attempt on Saddam’s life in Dujail.The murder bid was followed by a wave of arrests, interrogations and ultimately the execution of 148 Shi’ites from the town Gunmen opened fire on the president’s convoy from the cover of orchards but Saddam forbade his security team from returning fire for fear of hitting innocent bystanders, the bodyguards said.”The president said there could be someone innocent in (the orchards) who could be hit by your firing, so stop shooting,” one testified.The hearing also featured a lengthy speech by defendant Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president.Ramadan said that a key item of evidence against him, a taped conversation in which he was told to destroy the orchards of Dujail, was faked, prompting prosecutors to submit four new documents supporting the charges against him.Three of the documents were letters linking Ramadan to the confiscation of land in Dujail, while the fourth was an order from Saddam to confiscate land without offering compensation to its owners.The lawyer for one of the Dujail victims told the trial yesterday: “The victims had not done anything against the unity and sovereignty of Iraq and the decision taken by the then court was illegal and violated the law.”The court passed the death sentence on the victims in just 16 days, which itself shows how artificial the court was.We demand maximum punishment for the defendants”.The lawyer was not identified and was not shown on camera for security reasons.- Nampa-AFP