Saddam judge wants to quit over govt pressure

reutersalertnet: The chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein has tendered his resignation in protest at pressure from the Iraqi government on himself and the court, a source close to the judge told Reuters on Saturday.

High Tribunal officials were trying to talk Kurdish judge Rizgar Amin out of his decision, the source said, adding that Amin was reluctant to stay on because Shi'ite leaders had criticised him for being too lenient on Saddam in court.

"He tendered his resignation to the court a few days ago but the court rejected it. Now talks are under way to convince him to go back on his decision," he said. "He's under a lot of pressure; the whole court is under political pressure."

"He had complaints from the government that he was being too soft in dealing with Saddam Hussein and his co-defendants. They (government leaders) want things to go faster.

"There's too much pressure ... All this is too much, it is a question of integrity," the source said. "I am not sure if he will go back on his decision. I don't think it's possible."

Spokesmen for the High Tribunal were not available for comment on a weekend following the week's Eid al-Adha holiday.

One official working with the court which is trying the former Iraqi leader and seven others for crimes against humanity said: "We just don't know what's going on." Read more