Saddam tribunal judge murdered

[NVMojo]

of course ...

March 3, 2005

A JUDGE working for the tribunal that will try Saddam Hussein and members of his former regime was killed by gunmen, officials said yesterday, a day after the secret court referred five of the ousted dictator’s aides to trial for alleged crimes against humanity.

The judge, Barwez Mohammed Mahmoud al-Merwani, and his son, Aryan Barwez al-Merwani - a lawyer also working for the tribunal - were shot dead outside their home in northern Baghdad’s Azamyiah district on Tuesday. The shootings marked the first time legal staff working for the Iraqi Special Tribunal had been killed.

Two car bombs also exploded in the capital, yesterday, killing ten Iraqi soldiers and wounding dozens of others.

While a tribunal official indicated the shootings may have been due to a personal dispute, one of the judge’s other sons, Kikawz Barwez Mohammed al-Merwani claimed the two were assassinated because they worked for the court or because they were minority Kurds.

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http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=233802005