Time has come for Saddam's lieutenants

Eleven of Saddam's closest lieutenants followed him into court on Thursday, some with eyes glistening, some confused and scared, but all apparently fearing their time was up.

While Saddam breathed defiance during his 25-minute hearing and left the room with a smirk, many of his former henchmen showed respect for the judge, some addressing him politely and even expressing satisfaction at having had their day in court.

The 11 - including Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali; Tariq Aziz, the former foreign minister; and Saddam's half-brothers Watban and Barzan al-Tikriti - were taken one by one into court for quick 10-minute appearances.

Like Saddam, they were dressed in cheap suits and open-necked shirts, bought by an American warrant officer. Some, like Aziz, remained chained around the waist.

But unlike Saddam, they all signed the papers the judge put before them, acknowledging their rights before the court, and most politely made requests for lawyers - not just Iraqi ones, but lawyers from Jordan or Egypt.

Abid Hamid Mahmoud al-Tikriti, Saddam's one-time secretary, even managed to raise a laugh - unintentionally. Asked who he'd like to represent him he replied Malik al-Hassan, who unknown to him was recently appointed Iraq's justice minister.

When explained his rights, Mahmoud said, "These rights are excellent."

Chemical Ali, accused of some of the worst crimes, including the gassing of the Kurds in Halabja in 1988 and the suppression of a 1991 Shiite and Kurd uprising, entered the courtroom using a stick, the result of diabetes.

According to a witness, he was sober, pensive and polite during his hearing.

When read his rights, he replied, "Thank you", and when told what he was accused of, he said, "I'm happy with the accusations because I'm innocent of them".

When he left the courtroom, Chemical Ali told a guard he was pleased with how things had gone because he had expected the charges to be much worse, said Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraq's security adviser and a court observer.

The assigned reporter said many of the accused invoked God when addressing the judge and seemed to accept that justice was looming.

All were accused of broad crimes, such as murders during the 1990s, Halabja's gassing, or the suppression of the 1991 uprising, and were told they faced justice under section 406/1/a of Iraq's criminal code, which carries the death penalty.

Dwelling on that fact bought tears to several defendants' eyes, although none broke down. Iraq's new President intends to reintroduce the death penalty, which was suspended during the US occupation.

None denied that crimes had been committed, although some, including Tariq Aziz, denied they were directly to blame, saying that the leadership was responsible.

"I never killed anyone by any direct act," said Aziz, regarded as the rational, intellectual face of Saddam's regime.

"You don't have any other allegations, there are only two?" he asked. "Is that it? That's it?"

After their appearance, all 11 were herded together and taken back to where they are being held, separate from one another, in an undisclosed location.

Salem Chalabi, the head of the Iraqi Special Tribunal organising trials for Saddam and his henchmen, said the 11 would be visited in the days ahead to get details of the lawyers they want to defend them and to cover other procedural issues.

He declared himself satisfied with the day's proceedings.

"Even Saddam seemed to understand that it was a court proceeding and acted appropriately," he said. "[Today] demonstrated that the process of accountability is starting."

- REUTERS

Herald Feature: Iraq