Posted on 07/08/2004 7:36:52 PM PDT by seastay
Saddam's Hussein's 21-member legal team Wednesday scrapped plans to visit their client in Baghdad, claiming that they have been the target of death threats. Mohammad Rashdan, coordinator of the Saddam legal squad, said the threats were coming from Iraqi officials "who say they will tear us to pieces."
Another member of the legal team is Washington, D.C. lawyer Curtis Doebbler, whose track record shows this isn't the first time he has advised opponents of the United States.
Doebbler is currently one of about 20 lawyers appointed by Saddam's wife, Sajida, to represent the deposed Iraqi dictator.
Saddam was captured in a hole in the ground last December and appeared before an Iraqi judge on July 1. He had been held at a secret location before he was brought to Camp Victory, a U.S. base near Baghdad that was once one of Saddam's many lavish palaces, for an informal reading of charges.
Doebbler has repeatedly claimed that he and his colleagues have been denied access to their client.
During a July 6 interview with "Democracy Now!" Doebbler called Saddam's appearance in court "a media charade by the United States."
"The charges which were read out, if they were the charges, they would be a failing of the prosecutor, because they would be easy to refute," said Doebbler during the interview.
Saddam was accused of seven broad charges, including killing religious figures and political leaders, gassing Kurdish residents of Northern Iraq and invading Kuwait. His actual trial isn't expected until at least 2005.
Doebbler has not disclosed how he snagged his big-name client.
According to biographies posted on the Internet, Doebbler served as an adviser to the Taliban on the laws of war and consulted with detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. Biographies also state that he advised the Palestinian Authority, but Israel has prohibited him from returning to the occupied territories.
Doebbler has advised the government of Sudan on human rights, according to his website. Sudan is on the State Department's list of state-sponsors of terrorism. And he has written that the United States illegally occupied Afghanistan and Iraq.
"I believe that all people have a right and a duty to take all necessary measures to end the United States' inhumane dominance of the lives of billions of people," wrote Doebbler in a statement on his political views.
Doebbler has also published several poems online, including one that begins with the line "I am at war with America."
Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Doebbler studied in the United States, the Netherlands and England. He has taught at several universities, most recently at Tashkent State Institute of Law in Uzbekistan.
Doebbler usually charges $250 or more per hour for his services, although he will work for "indigent individuals or others" without charge.
In an interview with CNN, he predicted his defense of Saddam would be pro bono.
Other Americans may soon join Doebbler on Saddam's defense team. The Reuters news service reported that 700 non-Arabs, including 400 Americans and Europeans, are ready to defend Saddam.
Wait, I thought everyone over there wanted him back, and us out. After all, he did get 100% of the vote.
Figure of speech, fools.
Did Ramsey Clark join the team?
If this guy is at war with America does that mean that members of the people's militia can shoot him on sight?
You've got to be kidding me...
He is still under cover!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.