Saddam trial: "New sheriff" but ex-dictator to boycott next session

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A tough new chief judge imposed order on Saddam Hussein's chaotic trial Sunday, ousting a co-defendant and a defense attorney from the courtroom and provoking a walkout by the rest of the defense team. Shouting "Shame on you!" the deposed Iraqi leader then refused court-appointed counsel and was escorted out.

Insults, profanity, shouting matches, shoving and gavel-pounding consumed the session's first half-hour before a visibly agitated Judge Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman gained control. The trial proceeded without four of the eight defendants and all of their original 13 lawyers.

After the session ended, Saddam's chief lawyer told The Associated Press that his client and other lawyers will boycott the next session of the deposed leader's trial in Iraq to protest what they say is the bias of the new chief judge hearing the case.

"There is an unanimous decision by the defense team to not attend Wednesday's hearing because of the comedy we witnessed in yesterday's trial," Iraqi lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said as he arrived in Jordan from neighboring Iraq.

The trial, in its eighth session Sunday, has been beset by procedural delays, repeated outbursts by defendants, the murders of two defense lawyers, and a shake-up that has given the five-member trial panel three chief judges in as many weeks.

The latest judge's assertive tactics at the beginning paved the way for three hours of uninterrupted testimony by victims of the deposed regime's repression.

"There's a new sheriff in town," said Michael Scharf, a Case Western Reserve University law professor who helped train the Iraqi judges. "I think we witnessed a turning point in the Saddam trial today."

But other legal observers said the judge's decision to continue without the best-known defendants and their lawyers raised questions about the fairness of the politically charged trial and the viability of the U.S.-created tribunal.

"In the face of provocative outbursts, the judge has to be firm but not trigger-happy in applying sanctions if fairness is going to be respected," said Richard Dicker, director of international justice for Human Rights Watch, which opposed holding the trial in Iraq.

Before the defense lawyers walked out, the judge warned them twice that they would not be allowed to return. After they left, he quickly brought in six court-appointed attorneys to replace them for the remainder of the trial.

After the session, however, court spokesman Raad Juhi said the defense lawyers could appeal to return to the courtroom. He said Saddam and the three defendants who left with him could also come back if they promised to behave.

The trial was adjourned until Wednesday.

Since the opening session last October, the court has struggled to maintain a balance between fairness to the defendants and a determination to overcome their delaying tactics and anti-American diatribes.

The first chief judge, Rizgar Mohammed Amin, had allowed defendants' outbursts to dominate previous sessions before resigning this month under Iraqi government criticism. With both sides eager to test each other, Abdel-Rahman, 64, opened Sunday's session, the first in more than a month, with a vow to be stricter.

Frowning down from the bench, the judge warned that he would permit no "political speeches" and threatened to expel any defendants "who cross the line."

Barzan Ibrahim, Saddam's half-brother, former chief of intelligence and fellow courtroom rabble-rouser, quickly challenged him.

"Circumstances have forced us to deal with each other here, in spite of my belief that this tribunal is illegitimate," he said, repeating a defense argument that the court is a tool of American occupation.

"What is your point?" the judge interjected, leaning forward and squinting.

"I said this court is a bastard child," Ibrahim shot back. In the ensuing uproar, the judge shouted, "Correct your vocabulary!" Gesturing wildly, he ordered Ibrahim to sit.

When Ibrahim refused, three burly bailiffs grabbed him by the arms and hauled him away, his feet dragging the floor.

At the defense counsel's table, Ibrahim's ouster set off an angry and boisterous protest. "Is this a street demonstration?" the judge barked. "Are you lawyers?"

Abdel-Rahman ordered bailiffs to remove Jordanian defense lawyer Salih al-Armouti.

"You have incited your clients and we will start criminal proceedings against you," said the enraged judge. Armouti put up a struggle, shouting as he left.

The rest of the defense team started to leave in protest, apparently intent on delaying the trial. A previous walkout threat by the same lawyers, on Dec. 5, led to a recess and concessions by the bench. As they headed for the door this time, however, Abdel-Rahman made it clear that the trial would go on without them.

Then Saddam, 68, asked to leave the courtroom, setting off more sparring with the judge.

"If you want to leave, I am having you removed," Abdel-Rahman said.

"Shame on you ... you are an Iraqi," Saddam said, wagging a finger and speaking regally, as if he were still president. "You cannot say to your leader that you are throwing him out of the courtroom."

"I am the judge and you are the defendant," the judge said, getting the last word. "I am enforcing the law."

Two guards were ordered to lead Saddam out. Casting scornful glances in all directions, he walked slowly, his bearing erect, with the guards close on either side but not touching him.

He was followed by his former vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, and Awad Bandar, former chief of his revolutionary court.

That left four minor officials of Saddam's Baath party in court. They protested the appointment of new lawyers but otherwise sat submissively.