Hussein trial: new judge, new concerns

On the first day as the new chief judge in Saddam Hussein's trial, Raouf Abdel Rahman made it clear that he wasn't going to tolerate the antics that have turned the courtroom into a soapbox for Mr. Hussein.

"There is no place for political speech here," Judge Rahman warned the defendants on Sunday when the trial resumed after a month-long recess and the resignation of the previous judge, Rizgar Mohammed Amin. "Those that overstep these limits, will be thrown out of the court."

But that tough line was tested when Hussein and four codefendants refused to attend Wednesday's session in protest of the trial's new chief, a Kurd who Hussein's lawyers say is biased against the former Iraqi leader.

But without disruptions and the acidic outbursts from Hussein or his half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, the trial proceeded without the disruptions that have marked the previous eight sessions in the case revolving around a 1982 massacre of more than 140 Shiites in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.

What remains to be seen, though, is if this no-nonsense approach to courtroom order taken by Rahman will successfully keep the trial on track or further roil a case that was meant to be part of the cathartic healing process for a divided Iraq.

"The trial is clearly verging on dysfunction at this point," says David Scheffer, the US Ambassador at large for War Crimes Issues during President Clinton's administration.

"The new judge has allowed himself to become emotionally engaged in a way that does not facilitate a disciplined and respectful process in the courtroom," he says.

At the heart of the trial debate is how to deal with a defense tactic that experts say seeks to disrupt the court at every juncture.

Judge Amin gave Saddam and his seven co- defendants freedom to pontificate before the cameras. But many here in Iraq were outraged by Amin's leniency. Leading politicians called for a tougher courtroom stance.

With millions of Iraqis tuning into the gavel-to-gavel coverage on state TV, and the insurgency showing no signs of letting up, many worried Mr. Hussein's courtroom theatrics would turn into a rallying cry for insurgents.

His grandstanding, some politicians say, would turn him into a national hero, much as the ex-Yugoslavian dictator, Slobodan Milosovic, used his war crimes trial to campaign successfully for a seat in parliament.

Many Iraqis cheer the strict new disciplinarian at the helm of the proceedings.

"This is normal, like a judge behaves in any real Iraqi court," says Mustafa Mohammed, a Shiite, who watched Sunday's proceedings with three friends. "This is the true Iraqi judge. The old judge was a farce."

Page: 1 | 2