Judge hurries Saddam's defense proceedings
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-13 19:52
On Monday, alleged confessions of the four witnesses were read in court,
admitting they committed perjury either because they were intimidated by Saddam
loyalists or offered rewards by the defense.
The defense team alleged the confessions were forced, and two of the
witnesses -- who have since been released and fled abroad -- told The Associated
Press they were beaten in detention to make them sign the confessions.
Ibrahim, Saddam's former intelligence chief, was dragged out of the court
Monday by guards after he accused Abdel-Rahman of "terrorizing" the defense.
When he tried to push off the guards who were grabbing him, they held his left
arm and pushed him into a wall as they tried to hustle him out the door, causing
an uproar among the defense lawyers.
"This is dictatorial," Ibrahim shouted. "You know dictatorship," Abdel-Rahman
sneered in reply.
An American lawyer on the defense team, Curtis Doebbler, lashed out at the
court, accusing it of mistreating the defense, ignoring its written motions,
intimidating its witnesses and rushing it to finish its case.
"We are at a serious disadvantage to the prosecution because of the way we
have been treated by the court," he said. "We want to work for justice. But that
must start by having a fair trial. But under the current circumstances, that
doesn't seem possible."
Doebbler -- a visiting professor at Najah University in the West Bank -- is
one of two American lawyers on the defense team, along with former U.S. attorney
general Ramsey Clark.
|
