Saddam trial deputy judge 'should not take top post'

The No. 2 judge in the Saddam Hussein trial should not replace the resigning chief judge because of claims he belonged to the once-ruling Baath Party, according to the head of the body working to rid Baathists from Iraqi institutions.

Ali al-Lami, executive director of the De-Baathification Commission, said a formal letter was sent to the Iraqi High Tribunal objecting to the possibility that deputy judge Said al-Hamash would replace chief judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin.