Oct 18, 03:48 PM
Trial of Saddam Hussein and seven former Iraqi officials begins tomorrow
Responsble for the murder of an estimated 300,000 civilians during his nearly 30 year reign, Hussein and the others will be tried in an Iraqi court. However, as the NY Times puts it, “what should be a moment of triumph for his victims is instead stirring concern about the fairness and competence of the court itself.”
Some of the problems with the court that human rights groups and others have mentioned:
- At the most basic level, the court’s being established during the US occupation and it’s funding and support primarily by the US and its allies lends a taint. This could have been avoided by trying Hussein and other regime members in an international tribunal, or, in my fantasy world in which the United States believes a good deal more in the cause of international justice, the International Criminal Court.
- There is no requirement that guilt be proven beyond a reasonable doubt; instead, it must be proven to the “satisfaction of the judges.”
- As Human Rights Watch puts it, “Inadequate protections for the accused to mount a defense on conditions equal to those enjoyed by the prosecution.”
- Interference of the Iraqi government on the proceedings, including, as is alleged in the Times, firing the original prosecution team when they were not seen to be moving quickly enough. A member of the current team told the Times that they have chosen to begin now with a smaller incident that may not convey the broad sweep of Hussein’s crimes because they fear similar pressure.
- An obsession with the death penalty, including a rule requiring execution of the defendant within 30 days of a final judgment.
It may be hard to muster any concern for how Hussein and his henchmen are treated, but it is not for their sake that we should all want a sound legal proceeding to take place. HRW’s briefing paper on the issue concludes that, “Fair trials are not only the entitlement of defendants. They are also a prerequisite for acknowledging the experiences of hundreds of thousands of victims of the former regime in an open, transparent and publicly accessible way.”
commenting closed for this article