Saddam Trial May Begin Before Mid- October
Appearing on CNN today, Iraq's national security adviser said that Saddam Hussein's trial may begin before October 15 - which would coincide with the vote on Iraq's new Constitution.
The trial will be telecast in Arab countries.
In related news, one of Saddam's lawyers is asking that the trial be moved to Sweden for safety purposes. And Saddam has asked to be allowed to meet Ramsey Clark, another of his lawyers, but the request has not been acted upon.
This Reuters article in a South African newspaper calls Saddam's defense team "motley."
Among those who will defend the overthrown president when he goes on trial for war crimes are a former US attorney general, a former French foreign minister who once represented Picasso,and a little known contracts lawyer from Jordan.....Officially, Saddam has registered four lawyers, according to officials close to the special tribunal, but an international team of 20 to 25 has also been retained by his family and will aide his defence, according to Issam Ghazzawi, one of the team.
....Sometimes even other lawyers can't tell who exactly is defending Saddam. One person who has appeared frequently on tele-vision saying he is one of Saddam's lawyers is Anglo-Italian Giovanni di Stefano, who once worked on behalf of Slobodan Milosevic.
Asked about Di Stefano's role, Ghazzawi was dismissive. "I don't know about him. He's not on the main team." - Reuters
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