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Change of judge: Saddam protests, sent out

Atul Aneja

DUBAI: The former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, was ordered out of the courtroom on Wednesday following his protest against the appointment of a new judge in a case where he had been accused of genocide.

The defence team walked out after Mr. Hussein was asked to leave.

The defence was opposing the sudden appointment by the Iraqi Cabinet on Tuesday of Mohammed Oreibi Al-Khalifa, as judge. He replaced Abdullah al-Amiri, who was presiding over the trial. Mr. Amiri's recent comment in the courtroom that Mr. Hussein was not a dictator had become controversial and was apparently a key cause that led to his removal.

Acknowledging that the remark was a factor, Hussein Al Duri, aide to Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki, told Al Araybia television that, "The head of the court is requested to run and control the session, and he is not allowed to violate judicial regulations. It is not allowed for the judge to express his opinion."

Genocide charge

Wadoud Fawzi, a defence lawyer told the court that, "We don't expect from this court established under the occupation authorities to be fair, so we decided to withdraw from this trial." Mr. Hussein, along with his six colleagues have been charged with genocide during the yearlong military campaign against Kurds, which began in 1987.

Questioning the fairness of the trial, Nehal Bhuta, an international legal expert with the New York based Human Rights Watch told AFP that the judge's removal was "a blatant violation of the independence of the court." "This act jeopardises the integrity of the court and damages prospects of justice for the victims themselves," observed Mr. Bhuta, who has been following Mr. Hussein's trial from the beginning.

This is not the first time that the judicial bench trying Mr. Hussein has been reshuffled. On January 23, the chief judge of a parallel trial, Rizkar Mohammed Amin, had resigned after citing "personal reasons" for his decision.

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