At long last the trial of former Iraq President Saddam Hussein got underway for the killing of 150 Shiites in 1982, after a failed assassination attempt against him. Saddam Hussein and the seven others accused in the case – who are close confidantes of Saddam – were brought before a five-judge court. Except for chief judge Rizgar Mohammad Amin, the remaining four judges’ identities have been kept hidden from the public eye.
Similarly, the witnesses and the evidence to be produced during the trial will be kept secret. Saddam’s attorney, Khalil Dulaimi, protested at the format of the trial and said that it seemed to be a trial without laws and rights. The trial court has been established in the U.S.-controlled Green Zone in Baghdad, which was guarded by U.S. warplanes, helicopters and ground troops during the proceedings.
Members of the media, human rights groups and independent observers were not allowed to witness the proceedings. Analysts say that in fact the trial is a secret trial, with no transparency. The world, they add, may never know much about the proceedings.
It is unjust that Saddam Hussein has been charged for the murder of 150 Iraqis, while President Bush has killed 150,000 Iraqis during the past two and half years. It is obvious that Iraq was attacked and occupied on lies and assumptions, in which Iraq’s acquisition of so-called WMDs, and chemical and biological weapons was made as the main excuse.
The United Nations and the international community at large have vehemently opposed this U.S. strategy. Furthermore, the Bush administration’s officials are abusing Muslim prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghuraib, Bagram and dozens of other secret prisons across the globe, and burning the dead bodies of Afghans, all flagrant violations of Geneva Convention. Similarly, the annihilation of Iraqi cities like Falluja and Ramadi and the killing of innocent civilians come under the ambit of war crimes.
It is also amazing that Saddam has so far been charged with the murder of just 150 Iraqis despite the fact that for the past few years he had been facing allegations of having massacred Kurds, Shiites and the Iranians, running torture chambers, and burying people in mass graves. However, his trial is restricted to the murder of only 150 Iraqis, obviously because U.S.-supplied gas was used in the massacre of Kurds. Attacks against Iran have also been instigated by the United States.
Saddam has been charged with crimes against humanity and not war crimes. This way the role Americans played in the slaughter of Kurds and Iranians remains un-exposed and the case can not be transferred to the international court in The Hague.
Moreover, an Italian court recently issued arrest warrants for CIA officials who are keeping a few Italian Muslims in solitary confinement. A Spanish court recently issued arrest warrants for three American soldiers in the murder of a Spanish journalist. These court actions have exposed U.S. crimes, demonstrating a continuous violation of international agreements and the law.
During the opening of the trial, when the veiled court’s presiding judge Rizgar Mohammad Amin asked Saddam Hussein his name and his clan, he remained silent. At last Saddam broke his silence and said: “I am the President of Iraq but who are you? I don’t recognize your court that has been formed by the American occupiers.”
Judge Mohammad Amin adjourned the hearing until November 28 because of the non-availability of witnesses and evidence. When the judge rose to leave the chambers, Saddam remained sitting and did not rise to honor the court.
No doubt Iraq is under foreign occupation. There is no law governing the country. The country’s judiciary is being turned into a death chamber. The accused and the criminals are so brazenly denied fair trials, putting the entire judiciary’s independence in doubt. When Saddam’s trial is compared with that of Slobodan Milosovic, who killed thousands of Muslims in Yugoslavia, one finds that Milosovic is afforded full rights at The Hague tribunal, and in fact, he seems to dominate its proceedings.
Saddam Hussein is an Iraqi and Arab nationalist who preferred death over fleeing his homeland. Saddam’s two sons have been killed and Iraq has become unlivable for his closest relatives. Saddam is emerging as a hero for the Arab nation. Even Saddam’s opponents are confessing today that there was no lawlessness during his reign. Everybody was safe in Iraq and basic amenities such as education and health were provided to the citizens free of cost. No one was deprived of basic facilities such as food, electricity and water even during the worst of times. There were no incidents of kidnapping for ransom and minorities felt safe during his rule.
Iraqis were considered one of the most literate nations amongst the Arab states. But today all that has been snatched. The state of Iraq has become occupied and pliant. It’s such a big cruelty of history that the Iraqi nation – which remained a united entity for centuries – is being divided today on the basis of clan, sect, belief and race.
