Lawyers boycott

THE defence began closing arguments in the Baghdad trial of Saddam Hussein yesterday, but most of the lawyers boycotted the court after the killing of one of Saddam’s lawyers last month.

The murder of Khamis al-Obeidi overshadowed the session as a lawyer for Ali Dayih Ali, a lower-level defendant in the case, delivered the first argument.

In a new security measure, the lawyer’s face was not shown in the TV broadcast of the trial and his voice was electronically altered. Saddam’s lawyers and three of his top co-defendants were not present, boycotting the court until better security was put in place and other demands were met.