Baghdad, Iraq – Guards pulled the sole woman on Saddam Hussein’s defense team from the court Monday after she had a shouting match with the chief judge, prompting her to throw off her lawyer’s robe in rage.
Defense lawyers raised an uproar over the removal of Bushra al-Khalil, accusing the chief judge of trying to intimidate them.
Hussein also had a heated exchange with chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman after objecting to al-Khalil’s removal. The judge told him to be silent, and Hussein shouted: “I’m Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq! I am above you and above your father!”
“You are a defendant now, not a president!” the judge barked, banging his gavel.
The stormy scene was a new distraction in the 7-month-old trial after several weeks of remarkable order. During that time, the prosecution wrapped up its case and the defense started presenting witnesses.
U.S. officials observing the court have said the proceedings could finish by late June, after which the judges would adjourn to consider their verdict.
Hussein and his regime members are being tried for a crackdown against Shiites in the town of Dujayl after a 1982 assassination attempt on Hussein there.
Hundreds of men, women and children were arrested. Some allegedly were tortured to death, and 148 Shiites were sentenced to death by Hussein’s Revolutionary Court for alleged roles in the assassination attempt.
Hussein and his seven co-defendants could be hanged if convicted.
Abdel-Rahman took his post as chief judge at the beginning of the year after his predecessor was criticized for letting the defendants delay the trial with outbursts and speeches. Abdel-Rahman has taken a tough line, throwing out several lawyers and defendants to impose order.
After Monday’s squabble, three defense witnesses testified with little interruption. They included the highest-ranking member of Hussein’s inner circle to take the stand, his half brother Sabawi Ibrahim al-Hassan, a former presidential adviser who has been in U.S. custody since early 2005.
Al-Hassan said Hussein tried to calm him after the assassination attempt, saying, “Please, don’t blame the people of Dujayl.”
“Mr. President doesn’t have the spirit of revenge and aggression, and there is no hatred in his heart. He is brave and generous,” al-Hassan said. “He is my big brother, and I’m proud of that.”
