Iraq to decide fate of Hussein

Local Iraqi expatriates want crimes publicly exposed during trial for former dictator

Iraqis will decide the fate of Saddam Hussein. U.S. President George W. Bush explained that the trial against the former dictator of Iraq will be entrusted to his victims. "It was the Iraqi people that he brutalized, murdered, gassed, and tortured. It is up to them to decide how to try him."
The "Nuremberg trial" of Saddam's regime will need to offer some guarantees. The trial will have to be "public and fair", said Bush during a press conference at the White House, successfully passing "any international scrutiny".
"People must be able to say, justice was served," declared Bush.
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan meanwhile reminded that "the United Nations are against the death penalty and do not contemplate it in their courts."
Saddam is guilty of "horrible crimes" and it is essential "that he be brought to justice," added Kofi Annan, "but in full compliance with international humanitarian laws."
In short, justice must be done following procedures that ensure "open trials in the appropriate courts."
President Bush did not go into details during his press conference. "This is something for lawyers to sort out," he said, "but the important thing is for all Iraqi citizens to get involved in all these decisions." The most likely venue for the trial against Saddam seems to be the special tribunal just created by the Provisional Council in order to judge the war crimes and crimes against humanity of the previous regime.
The council reserves the right to appoint the five judges, the prosecution and the defence. The impartiality of such a tribunal has already been questioned by international law experts, who underscore the need for non-Iraqi consultants, and possibly even judges, in the mechanism that will be put in place for trying Saddam Hussein and his main collaborators.
"It is very important that Iraqis don't see this trial as a mere act of revenge," said experts of Human Rights Watch. "This is why international lawyers must be involved in this procedure right from the start."
Many people see the trial against Saddam as a great opportunity for a "historic catharsis" in Iraq, with the public denunciation of the horrors perpetrated by the previous regime and the return of the rule of law in the country.
"This trial offers a perfect opportunity for educating the Iraqi nation and achieving the psychological transition from the past to the future," remarked Laith Kubba, an Iraqi expatriate. "Saddam misdeeds must be exposed in detail, as an admonition for future rulers."
There are many difficulties, though. A major problem is the lack of a professional class of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, able to sustain such an important and complex trial. This lack stems also from the brutal administration of justice in the past decades, under Saddam's iron fist. A trial discussing the crimes of 30 years would require long months of preparation and massive documentation (currently dispersed), lengthening the wait and complicating the procedure.
Another risk is that Saddam might attempt to turn the trial into a podium for inviting and leading the actions of his loyalists, after the trauma and resignation of capture.
It is quite likely that the trial might end with Saddam being sentenced to die. At present, the death penalty is not contemplated by the Iraqi Interim Council, but apparently it might be by the time the trial will be underway.
When asked about Saddam's possible sentence, U.S. President Bush replied that he has a definite opinion about how Saddam should be dealt with, but that the decision "goes to the Iraqis."
Bush - who repeatedly called the former Iraqi President a liar, a torturer, and a murderer - left very little doubt about what his opinion might be.

Publication Date: 2003-12-21
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3477