AMMAN, 9 August 2005 — The family of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein said yesterday it had sacked all members of his foreign defense team and would deal only with his Iraqi lawyer.
“From today, none of the lawyers, except Iraqi lawyer Khalil Dulaimi, will have the right to act on behalf of Saddam,” according to a statement from the family signed by Saddam’s daughter Raghad yesterday.
“They used their position to further interests not linked to the case,” the statement said.
A member of the Amman-based defense committee, Issam Al-Ghazzawi, said the family’s decision may be linked to the number of public declarations by various lawyers about Saddam’s case.
“Defense committee members do not have the mandate to plead Saddam’s case in court, but will offer legal advice and support, nothing more,” he added.
The committee, which has about 20 active lawyers, does not recognize the competence of the Iraq Special Tribunal to try Saddam.
Meanwhile, a sandstorm forced Iraqi leaders yesterday to delay talks aimed at breaking deadlock over drafting the constitution to meet an Aug. 15 deadline for the document they hope will help defuse a raging insurgency.
A second day of unrest in the southern Shiite city of Samawa added to the pressure on the government.
Locals said the provincial council voted out the governor, meeting the demands of hundreds of protesters who took to the streets on Sunday complaining of poor services. But about 200 guerrillas were still roaming parts of the town and attacking police with rockets and AK-47 assault rifles.
President Jalal Talabani had been scheduled to host a second day of talks between Iraqi leaders from across the sectarian and ethnic divide yesterday to try to resolve volatile issues such as regional autonomy and control of oil revenues.
A government statement said poor weather had forced a delay in further talks until today. A heavy sandstorm brought chaos to Baghdad yesterday.
