Saddam won't recognise any court, says lawyer

Saddam Hussein will recognise no court if he goes to trial in Iraq, where a “justice of vengeance” would be meted out, the French lawyer on a team defending the toppled Iraqi dictator said in Paris.

Emmanuel Ludot, one of 20 lawyers on a defence committee, said their strategy is to argue that no one has the right to judge Saddam.

But he also said the team has proposed a trial under United Nations auspices in The Hague, in the Netherlands.

“We consider that this war is completely illegal. The Americans penetrated Iraq without UN backing and the detention of Saddam is irregular because of the illegal character of the war,” Ludot said.

“Saddam Hussein will not recognise any tribunal, or any sanction whatever it may be. He considers that no one has the right to judge him,” Ludot said. He confirmed that the defence team was still seeking permission to visit their client, held in a secret location by the United States.

The attorney predicted that any trial would be “slapdash” and claimed it would be aimed at executing the former Iraqi president, who has not yet been charged.

“This is a justice of vengeance, summary justice with a goal to quickly judge and shoot him,” Ludot said.

Should Saddam be transferred to Iraqi authorities before June 30, when the US occupiers are to transfer sovereignty to Iraq, it would be contrary to the Geneva Conventions since hostilities would not officially be over, he said.

Were he handed over after June 30, which is likely, the defence could seek a trial annulment on grounds that a prisoner must be handed over to a signatory of the Geneva Conventions, Ludot added.

Salem Chalabi, the head of Iraq’s war crimes tribunal, said in a statement today that the United States would hand over individuals in custody, once they are indicted, to the special Iraqi court handling the cases “if that court is ready to take them”.

However, Chalabi said it was “unlikely” that the tribunal would be prepared to assume custody of defendants before June 30.