Bush Crowed, But The Trial Blowed

Human Rights Watch: Saddam Dujail Trial 'Fundamentally Unfair'

Following up on my last post about Bush crowing over the verdict in the Saddam Hussein trial, in which I asked questions about the validity of process, the justice achieved and the hypocrisy of Bush, et al, making political hay out of the conviction.

Do not misunderstand my point. Saddam Hussein was a despicable dictator and a dispicable excuse for a human being. He killed other people indiscriminantly, based on the idea of maintaining his stranglehold over the people of Iraq. Overthrowing his government can be seen as a "good thing," except that we (the US) should not have been the ones to take on the task of doing so. Hussein deserves to be brought to trial, judged and sentenced. However, we (the US) should not be the ones to do it.

From where I sit, because Iraq has not fully developed its government to assure fairness, due process, and eliminate US influences in the government, it was not possible for Hussein to receive a fair trial. The Hussein trial should have been transferred to a more appropriate venue, similar to those that have been convened for crimes against humanity or war crimes that occurred in the breakup of Yugoslavia. If there were an international approach to the trial, perhaps the claims about unfairness and improper process would have been quelled. In this case, though, I would imagine that a panel of judges from Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, Egypt and Syria might have been more appropriate than the typical international court. The judges from these predominantly Arab, predominantly Muslim nations would be familiar with the Qu'ran, Sha'ria and the issues that confronted Hussein as a leader of a nation in the Middle East. The balance of the panel, having Iraqi and Kuwaiti members that might hold harsher views of Hussein, but also having other Arab judges that would not have harsher views of Hussein, could have assured that some modicum of justice, fairness of process and fairness of sentence would have been effected.

I don't agree with all of the claims made by HRW, but I do think that the bottom line assessment of the process and the fairness of the sentence is in question.

Saddam Hussein's trial for crimes against humanity committed in Dujail was "fundamentally unfair" and the guilty verdict lacks legitimacy due to procedural and substantive flaws, according to a report released by advocacy group Human Rights Watch on Monday. Nehal Bhuta, the report's author, said that the Iraqi High Tribunal "squandered an important opportunity to deliver credible justice" and called the court's decision to impose the death penalty in light of the trial's procedural shortcomings "indefensible." Based on 10 months of court observation and interviews with judges and lawyers, the report concludes that:

* Hussein and his co-defendants were not given adequate notice of charges against them, or enough time to prepare a defense;

* prosecutors failed to disclose exculpatory statements, and failed to disclose witness statements and other evidence in advance of trial;

* chain of custody issues were dismissed without argument;

* 29 witness statements were read into the court record, denying Hussein his right to confront his accusers;

* judges failed to explain their reasoning on key issues in writing;

* Hussein's defense counsel acted inappropriately and failed to adequately represent Hussein;

* the turnover of judges hurt the trial, and that the presiding judge exhibited unseemly bias in favor of the prosecution;

* and that substantively, the judges should have required "linkage evidence" from political, historical, or military experts to demonstrate how much knowledge Hussein should have had of the acts he was blamed for.

Hussein's defense lawyers welcomed the report Monday, saying that HRW's findings "bolster" the defense team's arguments that the trial was "unfair and illegal."

Last week, defense lawyers accused Iraqi officials of interfering with the appeals process of the Dujail verdict, where Hussein and two co-defendants received the death penalty for crimes against humanity committed in Dujail. Hussein was charged with killing, torturing and illegally detaining Dujail residents, including the execution of 148 Shiites, after an unsuccessful attempt on his life there in 1982.

Hussein is also currently on trial on genocide charges for allegedly killing 100,000 Kurds in the "Anfal" campaigns in the late 1980s. That trial was adjourned last week until mid-December. The Washington Post has more.