HRW slams Saddam Trial

[Kiouni]

Human rights body slams Saddam trial
By Steve Negus, Iraq correspondent

Published: November 20 2006 04:12 | Last updated: November 20 2006 04:12


The just-concluded trial of Saddam Hussein and members of his regime was marred by so many flaws that the verdict is unsound, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement released on Monday.

The report – one of the harshest and best-documented critiques of the trial process – points out many of the procedural flaws that the human rights group and other courtroom observers had already noted. But it also argues that there were gaps in establishing the individual guilt of each of the seven defendants.

“The court’s conduct, as documented in this report, reflects a basic lack of understanding of fundamental fair trial principles, and how to uphold them in the conduct of a relatively complex trial. The result is a trial that did not meet key fair trial standards,” the report concluded

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Administrative problems included lack of planning for the security of defence counsels, three of whom were assassinated. In addition, the HRW report argued that the evidence had big gaps, in particular its failure to show how Mr Hussein’s repressive regime worked.

There was “almost total lack of evidence” on a number of points needed to prove the individual guilt of defendants, such as the authority and internal or­ganisation of the security organisations and political institutions implicated in the events at Dujail.

Mr Hussein is scheduled to be hanged within 30 days of the exhaustion of his appeals.


more:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/defa875e-77ff-11db-be09-0000779e2340.html

[malaise]

1. All sane people know this n/t