Amnesty
International Deplores Death Sentences In Saddam Hussein Trial
By Amnesty International
06 November, 2006
Amnesty
International
Amnesty
International deplores the decision of the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal
(SICT) to impose the death sentence on Saddam Hussein and two of his
seven co-accused after a trial which was deeply flawed and unfair. The
former Iraqi dictator was sentenced today in connection with the killing
of 148 people from al-Dujail village after an attempt to assassinate
him there in 1982. The trial, which began in October 2005 almost two
years after Saddam Hussein was captured by US forces, ended last July.
The verdict was originally due to be announced on 16 October but was
delayed because the court said it needed more time to review testimony.
The case is now expected
to go for appeal before the SICT's Cassation Panel following which,
if the verdict were to be upheld, those sentenced to death are to be
executed within 30 days.
"This trial should have
been a major contribution towards establishing justice and the rule
of law in Iraq, and in ensuring truth and accountability for the massive
human rights violations perpetrated by Saddam Hussein’s rule,"
said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme.
"In practice, it has been a shabby affair, marred by serious flaws
that call into question the capacity of the tribunal, as currently established,
to administer justice fairly, in conformity with international standards."
In particular, political
interference undermined the independence and impartiality of the court,
causing the first presiding judge to resign and blocking the appointment
of another, and the court failed to take adequate measures to ensure
the protection of witnesses and defence lawyers, three of whom were
assassinated during the course of the trial. Saddam Hussein was also
denied access to legal counsel for the first year after his arrest,
and complaints by his lawyers throughout the trial relating to the proceedings
do not appear to have been adequately answered by the tribunal.
"Every accused has a
right to a fair trial, whatever the magnitude of the charge against
them. This plain fact was routinely ignored through the decades of Saddam
Hussein's tyranny. His overthrow opened the opportunity to restore this
basic right and, at the same time, to ensure, fairly, accountability
for the crimes of the past. It is an opportunity missed," said
Malcolm Smart, "and made worse by the imposition of the death penalty."
Amnesty International will
now follow closely the appeal stage, where the evidence as well as the
application of the law can be reviewed, and the SICT has therefore an
opportunity to redress the flaws of the previous proceedings. However,
given the grave nature of these flaws, and the fact that many of them
continue to afflict the current trial before the SICT, Amnesty International
urges the Iraqi government to seriously consider other options. These
could include adding international judges to the tribunal, or referring
the case to an international tribunal -- an option indicated by the
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last September.
Saddam Hussein is currently
being tried by the SICT, together with six others, on separate charges
arising from the so-called Anfal campaign, when thousands of people
belonging to Iraq's Kurdish minority were subject to mass killings,
torture and other gross abuses in 1988.
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