Amman, Jordan – With his trial about to start, Saddam Hussein’s trial lawyers are struggling to prepare a defense while saddled with a lack of money and a meddlesome daughter of the ousted leader.
For now, their strategy appears to be to try to delay proceedings as much as possible, to argue that the Iraqi court established to try him is illegal under international law and to contend that Hussein is immune from prosecution since his actions were legal under the previous Iraqi constitution.
The defense also is challenging the trial’s Wednesday start date, saying it hasn’t had enough time to review evidence allegedly tying Hussein to a 1982 massacre of Shiite Muslims in a town north of Baghdad.
Lack of time isn’t the only problem.
Daughter not helping
Former legal advisers complain that Hussein’s eldest daughter, Raghad, has interfered with the defense lawyers’ work in destructive ways.
Raghad fired nearly all her father’s 1,500 Arab and international lawyers in August, complaining that they had given her conflicting advice. Some former team members said she favored non-Arab lawyers.
“She controls the lawyers, although she has no legal background, and she keeps changing her mind every time she speaks to a different attorney,” said one of the fired lawyers, who agreed to discuss the matter only if not quoted by name.
“I think Raghad will send her father straight to the gallows,” he added.
Money is another problem, the legal team contends, despite allegations that Hussein pocketed millions, including funds skimmed from the now-discredited U.N. oil-for-food program.
“Raghad is penniless,” said Ziad al-Khasawneh, a Jordanian lawyer who resigned in July over differences with her.
He said Raghad lives off the generosity of the rulers of Jordan, Qatar and Yemen, although she is often seen in Jordan’s most exclusive shops buying designer outfits and jewelry with cash taken from a leather briefcase carried by a bodyguard.
Al-Khasawneh said a lack of money undermined his effort to file lawsuits against the U.S. and British governments for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He had planned to claim the invasion violated international law.
Hussein’s main Iraqi lawyer, Kahlil al-Dulaimi, has proposed that the Iraqi Special Tribunal or the media pay for defense expenses. Raghad’s aides have approached a few media organizations offering exclusive access to the defense team for cash.
Seeking legal justification
On Friday, Abdel Haq Alani, the Britain-based Iraqi lawyer who serves as the chief defense strategist, said defense lawyers will argue that the ousted Iraqi leader enjoys immunity from prosecution under the previous Iraqi constitution.
Alani also said the defense will argue that the trial is illegitimate because the tribunal was created by occupation forces.
Previously, Alani said the team could also raise doubts about the credibility of witnesses and contest “the factual and legal elements” of the prosecution case.
Privately, court officials say the five-judge panel hearing the case will likely approve a defense motion for a 15-day adjournment, which could be extended. Al-Dulaimi maintains he has not had time to prepare because he was formally notified of the trial date less than three weeks ago.
Prosecutors say all evidence was handed over to defense attorneys Aug. 10. But Alani said it was unreasonable to expect Saddam’s lawyers to have thoroughly reviewed all the documents that prosecutors took two years to compile.
Meanwhile, Alani has approached several prominent foreign lawyers to join the defense. They include prominent British lawyer Anthony Scrivener, and who once helped free four men wrongfully imprisoned as Irish Republican Army bombers, and Desmond Doherty, a Northern Ireland-based lawyer who worked on the inquiry into the “Bloody Sunday” killings.
Both lawyers have confirmed they were asked to join Saddam’s defense but have not yet agreed.
Saddam aides also have mentioned former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, who was part of the team fired in August, and Malaysia’s former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, who earlier announced a committee to ensure Saddam’s trial is fair.
