AMMAN, 9 September 2005 — The Iraqi lawyer for Saddam Hussein denied yesterday that the ousted dictator, awaiting trial next month over a 1982 massacre, had confessed to any crime and said there is no hope of his getting a fair trial.
Khalil Al-Dulaimi said in a six-point statement sent to AFP that “there has been no confession by President Saddam Hussein.”
Dulaimi, who heads Saddam’s defense team, was reacting to allegations by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani that the deposed leader had confessed to some of his alleged crimes.
Talabani, a staunch opponent of the death penalty, also said Saddam deserves to die “100 times.” Saddam, who has been in US custody since December 2003, is to go on trial next month before the Iraqi Special Tribunal over a 1982 massacre in a Shiite village north of Baghdad following an attempt on his life there.
In reaction, Dulaimi said that “if it is true that a certain judge has said anything to Talabani, then that judge should resign.” He also criticized Talabani for making any statements about the legal process. Dulaimi concluded by saying: “In this atmosphere, where Mr. Talabani states that the president should die, there is no chance of a fair trial.”
