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Saddam's Defense Witnesses Arrested

by TChris

Some judges are disinclined by nature to credit the testimony of a defense witness, but this is beyond belief:

The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's trial said Monday four defense witnesses have been jailed on suspicion of perjury, drawing accusations from defense lawyers that the court was trying to intimidate witnesses.

Duh, yeah. Jail is an effective weapon of intimidation. So is thuggery.

The defense lawyers said Iraqi soldiers beat several of the witnesses during their arrest May 31.

It's traditional for a judge to wait until the end of the trial, maintaining at least a pretense of impartiality, before pronouncing judgments on the credility of witnesses. Saddam's new, "get tough" presiding judge isn't a stickler for formality.

When lawyers complained at Monday's session about the arrests and beating, chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman retorted, "They committed perjury. Should I reward them?"

No need for a trial -- go straight to the beating. (Don't tell the president about this guy. He'll end up on the Fourth Circuit.)

Saddam's lead lawyer said the judge was surprised to hear an embarrassing truth come out in his courtroom.

Three of the witnesses testified last week that some of the 148 Shiites that Saddam and his seven co-defendants are accused of killing were still alive, defense lawyer Najib al-Nueimi told The Associated Press. The fourth told the court that chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi tried to bribe him to make up testimony against Saddam.

The lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, contends that the defense introduced videotaped proof that a prosecution witness testified falsely, and asks why that witness hasn't been arrested. It's a fair question.

< Jose Padilla Alleges Witness Statements Obtained Through Torture | A Day At Hunter Thompson's: Video >
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  • Display: Sort:
    Re: Saddam's Defense Witnesses Arrested (none / 0) (#1)
    by squeaky on Mon Jun 05, 2006 at 07:22:26 PM EST
    Don't tell the president about this guy. He'll end up on the Fourth Circuit.
    Better yet let's send Libby and Rove over there for a bit of 'tenderizing'.

    Re: Saddam's Defense Witnesses Arrested (none / 0) (#2)
    by squeaky on Mon Jun 05, 2006 at 07:24:24 PM EST
    Did I say 'tenderizing'? Gosh, I momentarily forgot the official term, I meant to say 'renderizing'.

    Re: Saddam's Defense Witnesses Arrested (none / 0) (#3)
    by soccerdad on Tue Jun 06, 2006 at 03:29:04 AM EST
    More gasoline for that civil war sir?

    Re: Saddam's Defense Witnesses Arrested (none / 0) (#4)
    by Al on Tue Jun 06, 2006 at 10:36:29 AM EST
    More gasoline for that civil war sir? -soccerdad
    Indeed. If Saddam is executed, he will become a martyr.

    Re: Saddam's Defense Witnesses Arrested (none / 0) (#5)
    by Johnny on Wed Jun 07, 2006 at 03:42:03 AM EST
    That noise you hear are the kangaroos bouncing around.