Saddam trial 'will break barrier of fear'

The toppling and trial of Saddam Hussein could have “enormous repercussions” for other authoritarian regimes in the Middle East, an expert on the region said today.

Millions of Arabs may for the first time begin to question the leadership of their own countries now the Iraqi dictator has been deposed and made to answer for his crimes.

Dr Maha Azzam, associate fellow of Britain's Royal Institute of International Affairs, said regimes in other countries, such as Syria and Egypt, would be “nervous” that a leader has been put on trial.

Dr Azzam said: “It is the first time an Arab leader has been put on trial - the repercussions are enormous.

“Many will see other dictators and say: ‘What about our leaders? They have committed crimes against our people.’

“Arab regimes are fairly nervous seeing Saddam put on trial. Ordinary people across the region are going to be saying: ‘Saddam is being put on trial’ – for the first time it is breaking a barrier of fear in the Arab world.

“The implications are going to be enormous. People will remember human rights abuses against their own people and the government failures in terms of corruption and the failure to be held accountable.

“People may feel: ‘They deserve it as much as Saddam Hussein’. That feeling may well emerge.

“Putting Saddam Hussein on trial will make people even more eager to see change inside their countries as well.

“In the wider Arab world there is a sense of injustice: ‘Why only this man, what about other leaders, they are dictators too.”’

And the leaders of authoritarian regimes are not the only ones in the Arab world who may not relish seeing Saddam brought to justice, Dr Azzam believes.

While the majority of Iraqis will be happy with the trial, some Arabs are still suspicious of the motives behind it.

“On the one hand, I think there’s many in the Arab world who will feel anger that Saddam Hussein was the one to be put on trial because there is a feeling he stood against the US and did not compromise over Palestine.

“There is a feeling on ‘Arab Street’ there’s a hidden agenda, that the trial is not for his human rights record, but that he did not serve US interests in the way they wanted.”

Dr Azzam cited the US support for Hussein and arms sales from the West during the Iran-Iraq conflict.

“Many on Arab Street will feel a sense of double standards – that is not to say they are not aware of his brutality.”

But Dr Azzam said inside Iraq the majority of people will welcome the trial and recalled the trial of Nazi war criminals after the end of the Second World War.

She added: “I think the vast majority of people in Iraq will be relieved that at last Saddam Hussein is being held accountable for his deeds.

“It is a historic moment for the Iraqi people and the region as a whole, but particularly for Iraqis. It is something that could never be imagined – the power Saddam Hussein wielded on the lives of individuals in Iraq, the fact that he’s in this position and put on trial is a major step.

“There are many scores to be settled…lots of Iraqis want vengeance. As in Nuremberg, there are parallels in history. A sense we have been here before.”

The legitimacy of the new government is also at stake, Dr Azzam added.

“I think it is crucial for them. So long as he is alive, and those members of his government are still alive, there’s a feeling that the new government can’t maintain its full authority.

“That he has been brought to justice, it will close a chapter on Iraq’s history, justice brought to the Baath regime. It will break its hold on Iraqi. Symbolically it is very important.”

And after watching Saddam during his court appearance, Dr Azzam said: “He is to a large extent broken but also remains defiant. He is probably shocked by the situation that he is in.”

The Iraqi government are about to reinstate the death penalty, she added.