Defence lawyers expected to attend Saddam trial

The court trying Saddam Hussein and seven others for a 1982 massacre of 148 Shiites expects defence lawyers to attend next week’s hearing, despite their threat to boycott the trial, a US official close to the proceedings said today.

The official told a news briefing that the court had “standby” defence lawyers to step in if the defence team made good on its threat to boycott the November 28 hearing, the first since the trial opened on October 19.

The threat followed the assassination of two members of the defence team. They have since demanded protection for themselves and their families.

The US official said the lawyers had been offered “options” to ensure their safety.

He said the court had been in talks with the defence team and that it expected the lawyers, including Saddam’s chief attorney Khalil al-Dulaimi, to attend Monday’s hearing.

Al-Dulaimi said the defence team was unsure if it would attend Monday’s hearing because its demands for protection had not been answered.