[NYTr] Saddam's lawyers suspend contact with tribunal

[ny...@olm.blythe-systems.com]

Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

The Independent - Oct 27, 2005
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article322605.ece

Saddam's lawyers suspend contact with tribunal

By Shafika Nattar

Saddam Hussein's defence lawyers have suspended all contact with the
special tribunal trying the ousted Iraqi leader, because they fear for
their lives after the murder of a colleague.

Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, the lawyer for the former head of Saddam's
Revolutionary Court who appeared alongside the dictator in the dock last
week, was kidnapped and murdered the day after the trial opened last
week.

A statement signed by Khalil al-Dulaimi, who leads Saddam's defence
team, said poor security put the lawyers and their families in danger.
"Due to the extreme deterioration of the security situation in Iraq, and
the repercussions facing the Iraqi defence team and their families, we
are stopping all dealings with the court until the situation is
reversed," the statement said.

MrJanabi was kidnapped by gunmen wearing police and military uniforms
who walked into his Baghdad office last Thursday. Hours later, his body
was found near a Baghdad mosque.

Saddam's Jordan-based legal support team also said it would seek United
Nations protection for the Iraqi lawyers because they do not trust
either the US military or the Iraqi government to ensure their safety.

The trial has been adjourned until 28 November. Saddam and seven others
are charged with crimes against humanity over the deaths of 148 men
after a 1982 assassination attempt against the deposed dictator in the
village of Dujail.

*
================================================================
.NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems
. Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us .
.339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org
.List Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
.Subscribe: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
================================================================