Saddam court in turmoil as new judge branded Baathist

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi court trying Saddam Hussein has been thrown into fresh confusion as a senior official denounced the new chief judge as a member of Saddam's banned Baath party who should be barred from office.

"(Sayeed) al-Hamashi is the object of a debaathification inquiry," Ali Faisal, executive manager of the independent Debaathification Commission, told Reuters. "His presence in this court violates the statutes ... and he must be replaced."

He said Hamashi's position came to the Commission's notice when he was named by officials as taking over after the current chief judge resigned, complaining of government pressure on the US-sponsored tribunal to be tougher on Saddam in court.

Several court officers stepped down before the trial began last year over links with the Baath party -- the tribunal is stricter on this than other Iraqi bodies -- but fellow lawyers, including the chief trial prosecutor, defended Hamashi's record.

US President George W Bush said, however, the trial was on track. Meeting alleged Iraqi victims in the White House he said that in the trial this year the world would see "the butcherer ... get his due justice under rule of law".

The resignation of Kurdish chief judge Rizgar Amin had rocked a court whose ability to stage a fair trial in the midst of sectarian and ethnic conflict among Saddam's fellow Sunni Arabs and the Shi'ite- and Kurdish-led government had already been thrown into doubt by the killings of two defence lawyers.

Another of the five judges on the panel in the present trial withdrew earlier, citing a possible conflict of interest.

International human rights groups have urged US and Iraqi officials to pass the trial to an international court.

"If the turnover of judges continues legal experts will begin to question the stability of the court," said Miranda Sissons, who has observed the trial for the New York-based International Centre for Transitional Justice.

Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi was sceptical Hamashi, a fellow Shi'ite, had Baathist links and insisted the Commission produce proof before the court would act: "Hamashi denies having any relationship with the Baath party," he told Reuters.

The Commission, set up under US military rule after Saddam's overthrow in 2003, is charged with rooting out members of the Baath party from power. Faisal said the Commission did not have to produce evidence but those it accused could appeal.

Amin has made clear he objected to political interference in the trial and court sources said on Wednesday it was looking unlikely that efforts would succeed to persuade him to stay on.

Hamashi, a Shi'ite and the senior of the four other judges on the panel trying Saddam in the first case for crimes against humanity, was named by court officials on Monday as taking over temporarily, in accordance with standard procedure.

Sources inside the High Tribunal said he had also emerged as the consensus choice of his fellow judges to take over permanently in the likely event Amin stood by his resignation.

Critics of Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi, a former US favourite who fell out with Washington, accused him of driving inquiries into Baathists links among the judges last year after his nephew lost his position running the tribunal.

Many Iraqi officials play down the relevance of membership of the Baath party, saying many joined just to advance careers.

A senior source inside the tribunal said fellow judges had agreed they would elect Hamashi as a permanent replacement for Amin. He would preside temporarily, as Amin's deputy, over the next hearing on Tuesday and the vote would come after that.

"The panel reached a consensus on Tuesday on choosing Sayeed al-Hamashi to preside permanently," the source told Reuters.

Hamashi himself, a former defence attorney promoted to the bench by the tribunal, has said he will not be intimidated by Saddam, who is charged with seven others with crimes against humanity for killing 148 Shi'ite men after an assassination bid.

All face hanging. Other trials may follow first, however.

In his early 50s and originally from Kut, southeast of Baghdad, Hamashi has already appeared briefly on television sitting at Amin's right hand. He had not previously been named.

A source close to Amin has told Reuters government officials and other Shi'ite leaders complained he had been soft on Saddam.

"Hamashi is a very capable lawyer," prominent Baghdad lawyer Ali Nasir said. "His most important asset is his firm attitude ... and he never shows leniency like Amin."

All the judges have had intensive US-funded training, but some lawyers noted veteran attorney Hamashi's inexperience on the bench. Baghdad lawyer Sura Saawi said: "He has never worked as a judge before so how can he run the trial of the century?"

- REUTERS