Updated: 02:28 AM EDT
Iraq Violence Undermines Saddam Tribunal
By ANTHONY DEUTSCH, AP
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Fearing for his life, an American-educated Iraqi assigned
to set up the court to try Saddam Hussein works from a secret office and rarely
sleeps in the same bed twice.
Salem Chalabi's daily routine illustrates the atmosphere of fear and
intimidation that shadows the 6-month-old Iraqi Special Tribunal as it
struggles to its feet.
As long as violence prevails in Iraq, war crimes experts say, the trial of
Saddam and at least 100 other suspects of atrocities against the Iraqi people
during his rule will have to wait, unless a foreign venue can be found.
"It's a monumental task, especially in light of the security situation," said
Chalabi, 41, a nephew of the former Iraqi Governing Council member Ahmad
Chalabi, who recently fell out with Washington.
Judges are refusing to work for the tribunal after five potential candidates
were killed since Saddam was toppled from power last year. At least half of the
court's first budget - tens of millions of dollars - will go to security alone,
Chalabi said in an interview.
Richard Goldstone, the first prosecutor at the U.N. tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia, said it will take one year to 18 months to set up a new tribunal,
at best.
"I simply don't see how you can contemplate putting Saddam on trial if there is
no security," Goldstone told The Associated Press, speaking by telephone from
New York. "There needs to be security for the defense, judges and witnesses."
The Yugoslav tribunal was established in the Netherlands in 1993 while the
Balkan wars were still going on. In Iraq, fighting between insurgents and the
occupying coalition troops claims lives each day, making it virtually
impossible to send investigators into the field.
Although Iraq insists on trying Saddam itself, Goldstone recommended a court
with international judges and prosecutors working alongside Iraqis, a formula
that has been successful for the U.N. tribunal for Sierra Leone. He suggested
an alternate location in the Arab world, such as the United Arab Emirates.
"After 38 years under Saddam Hussein it is unlikely there is really a system of
prosecutors and judges that could run it alone," Goldstone said.
But Chalabi is convinced that Iraqi judges and prosecutors can be trained for
the task. Chalabi was among dozens of Iraqis who visited The Hague, Netherlands
this spring to see how other tribunals operate.
Born in Baghdad, Chalabi studied at Yale, Columbia and Northwestern University
in the United States and holds degrees in law and international affairs. He
said the court doesn't expect to take custody of Saddam or hold trials anytime
soon.
The former Iraq dictator has been in U.S. custody in an undisclosed location
since he was found last December. The transfer of thousands of Iraqi prisoners
from U.S. forces to Iraqi authorities has been a controversial issue since the
revelations of abuse at Abu Ghraib prison.
But Chalabi said the court won't take over detainees until it's truly ready -
and he called the prospect "premature."
"Once we are ready, which we are not, ... then people will be handed over," he
said.
Chalabi's concerns over taking custody of Saddam seem at odds with the views of
Britain's U.N. ambassador, Emyr Jones Parry, who said recently that the June 30
transfer of power to Iraq's interim government will include control of
prisoners in U.S. custody.
U.S. authorities have released tribunal suspects without consulting the court,
said Chalabi. He said up to eight suspects have been released "who we've lost
and will never be brought to trial."
He identified three of them as Sa'adoun Hamadi, Iraq's former parliamentary
speaker; Yasser al-Sabawi, a nephew of Saddam accused of murder; and Khalil
Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraq's deputy chief of intelligence until 1998.
Dara Nor al-Din, an appeals court judge and former member of Iraq's Governing
Council, said the risks of working for the Iraqi tribunal are proving too great
for some candidates and suggested moving the court to Kurdish northern Iraq.
"Due to the poor security situation, the assassinations and assaults - judges
mostly have fears about that - they are refusing to be members of the court,"
said Nor al-Din, a Kurd. Like others, he expressed fears that witnesses and
court employees would be targeted by insurgents.
Finding a balance between speed and fairness may prove the court's most
difficult task.
"The problem is that justice delayed is justice denied," said Michael Scharf,
an international law professor involved in a training program for up to 500
Iraqi judges. "And every day Saddam Hussein remains in custody in Iraq, he
serves as a catalyst for insurgency."
06/07/04 02:27 EDT
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