BAGHDAD, 3 August 2005 — Saddam Hussein’s chief attorney vowed to boycott Iraq’s war crimes tribunal yesterday until a man he says attacked the former president during a hearing is brought to justice and the court apologizes.
Khalil Dulaimi said his client, expected to stand trial as early as September, was dismissive of prosecutors and judges working for the US-backed Special Tribunal, calling them American puppets. He said Saddam does not fear death.
In an interview, Dulaimi announced a boycott of the tribunal, saying it had failed to protect Saddam from attack. US forces responsible for guarding Saddam have denied any such assault on the former president had taken place.
“As Saddam Hussein’s lawyer and on behalf of all the defense team, we announce the boycott of the Iraqi Special Tribunal until they make a formal apology for the incident and the person who committed that disgraceful act is brought to justice,” Dulaimi, sitting in law offices in Baghdad, told Reuters.
Dulaimi, the only lawyer for Saddam present in the room at the time of Thursday’s hearing, said a man, whose name he gave as Tahseen and who he believed was a reserve investigative judge, had grabbed Saddam’s arm and tried to assault him. People intervened and broke up the scuffle, he said.
Meanwhile, Iraqis tasked with drafting the new constitution failed yesterday to make progress in resolving issues holding up the completion of the charter as rebel attacks left at least 33 dead. The constitution committee tried to solve some of the issues as parliamentarians vowed that the draft charter will be ready by Aug. 15, on time for a scheduled mid-October referendum.
As the haggling continued behind closed doors, MPs blasted Kuwait on the 15th anniversary of Iraq’s invasion for what they say are their neighbor’s repeated violations of Iraq’s southern border.
A joint commission set up to discuss the eventual pullout of US-led troops from Iraq met for the first time yesterday even as rebels continued their deadly attacks mainly aimed at Iraqi and US forces.
A powerful blast shook central Baghdad when a suicide car bomber blew himself up close to a US military convoy killing four people and wounding 23 others. Seven US Marines died in action in two separate attacks Monday west of Baghdad.
Gunmen opened fire on a group of people leaving a city hospital where they had been to see the body of a Sunni cleric, murdered late Monday. Five people were killed. Another six people, including five policemen, were killed when a suicide car bomber targeted a police patrol at a checkpoint in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, while another police officer was gunned down in western Baghdad.
Iraqi police colonel, Mizher Hamad Yussef, and others were killed in violence elsewhere.
