Saddam did not confess to mass killings, says lawyer

Saddam Hussein did not confess to mass killings. Picture / Reuters

AMMAN - Saddam Hussein's chief attorney denied on Thursday that the ousted president had confessed to ordering executions and waging a campaign against Kurds in which thousands of people are said to have been killed.

"There was no confession by the president and all the investigations in this case do not implicate him at all," Khalil Dulaimi said in a statement sent to Reuters.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told state television on Tuesday that an investigator who questioned Saddam told him he had extracted important confessions from him and that the ousted leader had signed them.

Talabani did not say whether Saddam had actually admitted to committing any crimes, or had merely acknowledged that he was head of state and commander in chief of the army at the time of various military operations.

"Saddam deserves a death sentence 20 times a day because he tried to assassinate me 20 times," Talabani said, recalling his days as a Kurdish rebel leader fighting the Baghdad authorities.

Talabani's comments appeared to be part of an orchestrated move by the government to prepare Iraqis for Saddam's execution, expected to be carried out by hanging.

Dulaimi said the investigator who was leaking information about the course of the interrogation should resign because he was prejudicing the outcome of the trial.

"If it's true that a certain judge had mentioned anything about the course of the investigation to Mr Talabani then this judge should resign immediately," Dulaimi said.

"At any rate Mr Talabani should not give statements on any matter that relates to a judicial process that ought to be conducted in confidence to ensure justice," he added.

DEFENCE FUTILE

Saddam's defence team say they are furious with a flurry of "politically motivated statements" by unnamed Iraqi officials who talk about a quick execution if Saddam was found guilty.

"There is no chance of holding a just and honest trial in such an atmosphere and these verdicts appear to have been issued beforehand," Dulaimi said.

"It's futile to even have a defence," Dulaimi added.

Dulaimi last saw Saddam on Monday, only days after the government said the former leader's trial on a single charge of mass killings in reprisal for a 1982 assassination attempt would begin on October 19.

Dulaimi said the Iraqi special court that will try Saddam had not notified the defence team of the timing of the trial or sent any paperwork on the charge of killing 143 Shi'ite villagers after the failed assassination bid.

The Amman-based defence team led by Saddam's eldest daughter Raghd believe Iraqi authorities want a quick trial without charging him with other crimes that could implicate other Iraqi politicians in power now. They also say Washington's backing for the ousted leader in the past could come to light.

- REUTERS