Posted on 10/09/2005 5:56:16 PM PDT by Aussie Dasher
THE trial of Saddam Hussein should start as scheduled but could be adjourned after just a day or two of procedural argument, according to the tribunal set up to try the former dictator.
The court confirmed last week that the five judges of Trial Chamber No. 1 would open proceedings on October 19 against Saddam and seven others for crimes against humanity in the killing of over 140 Shi'ite Muslim villagers at Dujail in 1982.
"I would call it the beginning of an ongoing process," the source, speaking on condition of anonymity said.
The first day, or perhaps a couple of days, would largely be taken up with legal argument between attorneys and the judges, probably including arguments from Saddam's defence counsel, already aired in public, that they need more time to prepare.
The defendants would be identified and charges probably read out, though the accused would not plead or make statements.
"How much time between that first day, whether or not they have business for one or two days and then adjourn for some period of time, how long the adjournment would be, would be up to the trial judge," the source said.
The impression has been growing from sources around the Tribunal that the full-blown hearings of witnesses and accused may be weeks away yet.
A senior official from Britain, which has been helping Iraqi lawyers prepare the trial, said much of the "physical logistics" of the trial were not ready for October 19.
US officials helping to organise the tribunal have long made clear they expect live television coverage that would add transparency to the proceedings, but this may well not be available as early as next week.
Saddam and his co-defendants, including his half-brother Barzan and his former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan, would almost certainly be present in court on the first and most subsequent days, the source said.
Among issues yet to be decided were whether the faces of the presiding judge and his four colleagues would be seen by the world, he added. Few involved in the prosecution and the bench have appeared in public for fear of retribution from Saddam's supporters. The judges would, however, probably be named.
The timing of the first day of the trial is symbolic, four days after Iraqis vote in a referendum on a constitution that many say will help draw a line under the Saddam era.
Leaders of the long-oppressed Shi'ite majority and ethnic Kurds, now sharing power in government, are keen to see the former leader speedily convicted and hanged, talking of a process of emotional healing for the Iraqi people.
But many of Saddam's fellow Sunnis, marginalised in a system imposed by occupation and resentful of Shi'ite rule, question the legitimacy of the trial. Saddam's Baathist supporters in the insurgency may step up attacks during the trial, officials said.
Slow start expected for Saddam trial.
What? Pull out the choke on the gas shredder!
Maybe they should convict him and hang him after the first trial and then continue with the other trials posthumously.
I like the way you think!
I hope the end result will be Saddam hanging form a rope.
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