Turbulent Saddam trial court appoints new judge

BAGHDAD - The court trying Saddam Hussein named a new chief judge today after the presiding judge resigned and his replacement was accused of being a supporter of the former Iraqi president.

Raouf Abdel Rahman, a Kurd from Halabja where 5000 died in a gas attack during an offensive by Saddam's forces, was appointed on the eve of the resumption of hearings.

His appointment to a court that was rocked by the original presiding judge's resignation amid complaints about government interference could bolster the defence's argument that Saddam cannot receive a fair trial in the US-sponsored tribunal.

Defence counsel, two of whose number have been killed since the trial started on October 19, say they want proceedings halted because the High Tribunal's independence has been undermined.

Saddam may be confronted from the witness stand by former associates in hearings over the next two to three weeks, a Western diplomat closely involved in the trial said, raising the possibility they may directly tie Saddam to atrocities.

The Iraqi High Tribunal has been in turmoil since Kurdish chief judge Rizgar Amin resigned earlier this month, complaining about government pressure to speed up the trial and clamp down on lengthy tirades by Saddam and some of his seven co-accused.

Amin told Reuters he stood by his decision, although the government had not yet formally accepted his resignation: "Everybody is trying to influence my decision but it is final."

His resignation raised doubts over the independence of the court, which Washington had hoped would stand as an example of justice and democracy after decades of dictatorship, defending Iraqis' right to try Saddam against calls for him to be referred to an international court.

The defence argues that a fair trial is impossible in Iraq, where some in Saddam's Sunni Arab minority are engaged in vicious sectarian and ethnic conflicts with a US-backed government dominated by Shi'ites and Kurds.

Amin was accused by some of being too soft on Saddam. Rahman's approach will be closely watched to see if he allows Saddam's tirades or keeps a tight grip on the proceedings.

Amin's deputy on the five-judge panel, Shi'ite Arab Sayeed al-Hamashi, was chosen by his fellow judges last week to preside over Tuesday's session, and court sources said he was also the consensus choice to take over permanently.

But Iraq's Debaathification Committee, an independent panel charged with rooting out Saddam's followers from positions of power, accused Hamashi and 19 other members of the court of belonging to the former ruling Baath party, a charge they deny.

The tribunal at first shrugged off the accusations, insisting Hamashi would still preside tomorrow, but today court spokesman Raid Jouhi said: "The tribunal met today and decided that Judge Raouf Abdel Rahman will head the court."

Another court official told Reuters: "Because of the problems with the Debaathification Committee they decided to shift aside Sayeed Hamashi and assign Raouf Abdel Rahman."

Like Amin, Rahman, 64, is a Kurd and is a judge in one of the tribunal's trial chambers.

His home town is Halabja, a Kurdish town where Saddam's security forces are accused of killing 5000 people in one day in 1988 in a mustard and nerve gas attack.

The massacre is one of the cases for which Saddam may be tried later.

Saddam is now on trial for crimes against humanity, charged with killing 148 men from the Shi'ite town of Dujail after a failed bid to assassinate him there in 1982.

Former associates of Saddam may take the witness stand on tomorrow, said the Western diplomat: "There will be former regime members" among witnesses appearing on several days of hearings, he told reporters on yesterday.

Members of Saddam's defence team questioned how the trial could proceed amid allegations that the government interfered.

"It's unthinkable they would press forward," said former US attorney-general Ramsey Clark.

"We expect greater intimidation and pressures. That's what the message from the pressures put on judge Amin say. 'Run this railroad, get going, move and run over anyone who gets in your way'."

- REUTERS