Second Lawyer in Saddam Trial Killed
guardian: Gunmen in a speeding car killed a defense lawyer in the Saddam Hussein trial and wounded another Tuesday, raising doubts about whether the prosecution of the ousted leader can proceed amid the insurgency and domestic turmoil.
The assassination of Adel al-Zubeidi, who was representing former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, in a predominantly Sunni Arab neighborhood in Baghdad was the second attack targeting the defense team since the trial began less than a month ago.
Laith Kubba, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, condemned the attack and said Saddam's followers could be behind the killings to sabotage the case.
But Saddam's main lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, blamed the Shiite-dominated government for the attack, telling Al-Jazeera TV the shooting was carried out by "an armed group using government vehicles.''
"The aim of these organized attacks is to scare Arab and foreign lawyers,'' al-Dulaimi said. "We call upon the international community, especially the secretary-general of the United Nations, to send an investigative committee because the situation is unbearable.''
Al-Dulaimi urged the trial be moved to a neutral country and he said defense lawyers do not recognize the session's next date, Nov. 28.
Al-Dulaimi's call was echoed by Richard Goldstone, the first prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, who suggested the trial be moved to another Arab country "where there is security.'' Read more
The assassination of Adel al-Zubeidi, who was representing former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan, in a predominantly Sunni Arab neighborhood in Baghdad was the second attack targeting the defense team since the trial began less than a month ago.
Laith Kubba, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, condemned the attack and said Saddam's followers could be behind the killings to sabotage the case.
But Saddam's main lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, blamed the Shiite-dominated government for the attack, telling Al-Jazeera TV the shooting was carried out by "an armed group using government vehicles.''
"The aim of these organized attacks is to scare Arab and foreign lawyers,'' al-Dulaimi said. "We call upon the international community, especially the secretary-general of the United Nations, to send an investigative committee because the situation is unbearable.''
Al-Dulaimi urged the trial be moved to a neutral country and he said defense lawyers do not recognize the session's next date, Nov. 28.
Al-Dulaimi's call was echoed by Richard Goldstone, the first prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, who suggested the trial be moved to another Arab country "where there is security.'' Read more
posted by exoplanet at 8:04 PM
<< Home