French Lawyer Plans Saddam's Defense

AP & wcbs880.com ^ | 3/27/04

[Feiny]

A French lawyer, known for defending terrorists and a Nazi leader, said Saturday he will defend Saddam Hussein.

Jacques Verges told France-Inter radio he had received a letter from Saddam's family requesting him to defend the former Iraqi leader in court.

The letter read: "In my capacity as nephew of President Saddam Hussein, I commission you officially by this letter to assure the defense of my uncle," Verges said. He did not name the person who sent the letter.

U.S. officials have said they will bring Saddam to trial for alleged crimes against Iraqi people. But the location of any trial and its format and date have not yet been decided.

Saddam is being held by U.S. forces at an undisclosed location.

Verges has defended Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal, whose real name is Ilich Ramirez. He gained international notoriety during the Cold War for staging a string of deadly bombings, assassinations and hostage seizures.

The French lawyer also defended, Klaus Barbie, a Nazi Gestapo chief in France in World War II, who was convicted of crimes against humanity in Lyon, France.

[Feiny]

A French Attorney for Saddam.....is anyone surprised?

[Madame Dufarge]

Not I.

I was just waiting for the official announcement.

[Feiny]

I guess Mark Geragos was too busy.

[chachacha]

I commission you officially by this letter to assure the defense of my uncle," Verges said.

And if you don't I will chop your head off.

[Bismarck]

Actually, that would have been a perfect gig for Alan Dershowitz.

[Grut]

A French Attorney for Saddam.....is anyone surprised?

I am. I expected Alan Dershowitz, who once said that not only would he defend Hitler but that he'd win, to be all over this.

[longtermmemmory]

The french want to keep the bribes of saddam under wraps while trying to maximize damage to the USA.

This frenchman want to put the USA on trial, not saddam.

The prosecution should have "GINORMOUS" picturs of victims, mass graves, mutilation, survivors of chemical attacks.

Let the dead speak with their images.

[JCB]

Actually I thought Ramsey Clark was going to do the honours. Some communist at any rate...

[Redcoat LI]

"The letter read: "In my capacity as nephew of President Saddam Hussein, I commission you officially by this letter to assure the defense of my uncle," Verges said. He did not name the person who sent the letter."

I confess,it was me,I know my Uncle Saddam has done some bad things but he deserves a fair trial,and he gave me a good deal on a used woodchipper.

[BunnySlippers]

CNBC said that he is a Communist and very anti-American. Defended Carlos the Jackal and Noriega.

[11Bush]

Does not matter one little bit who defends him. He will be dead within one week of the closing arguments.

[mtbopfuyn]

Is this one of those 'the true is stranger than fiction' things?

[chilepepper]

Nah, he just misread what he was defending. He thinks he is defending Sodom

[pragmatic_asian]

A French attorney for Saddam? I'm sure he's planning to surrender during opening arguments. But seriously, I'm sure his defense plan is going to consist entirely of blaming the US - the CIA, Rumsfeld, Cheney, etc...