TonyZ2001 wrote:

Gadhafi's Daughter to Help Defend Saddam

By SHAFIKA MATTAR
Associated Press Writer

July 2, 2004, 4:25 PM EDT

AMMAN, Jordan -- The daughter of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi will help
defend Saddam Hussein in court, a Jordanian lawyer and member of the legal
team representing the former Iraqi dictator said Friday.

Aicha Moammar Gadhafi, a law professor, will form a Libyan law experts
team to defend Saddam Hussein, Ziad al-Khasawneh told The Associated
Press.

"The daughter of the Libyan president is welcomed to join us, and we
consider her as an official member of the team," he said.

He added that the Jordanian-based multinational defense team had
telephoned Gadhafi on Thursday to offer their thanks.

A statement issued late Thursday by a charity association headed by
Gadhafi's daughter, in her late 20s, said she wanted to guarantee Saddam
received a "fair trail (based on) the principle that all accused should be
presumed innocent until proven guilty."

The statement, from the association's office in the Libyan capital,
Tripoli, said several Libyan lawyers will join Saddam's defense team,
which already includes lawyers from Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and Western
countries such as the United States, Britain, France and Belgium.

Saddam and 11 other defendants, all former members of the ousted Iraqi
regime, faced court in Baghdad for the first time Thursday on war crimes
and genocide charges. Defense lawyers were not present for the brief
arraignment.

Saddam's lawyers have complained of being kept in the dark concerning
their client's case, because they did not receive answers to their request
to the American administration, the International Committee for the Red
Cross and the Iraqi authorities to meet with the ex-Iraqi leader and be
present when he was indicted.

Al-Khasawneh said a member of the team, top Arab Lawyers Union official
Mohammed al-Alaqi, arrived Thursday in Jordan from Libya to help in
Saddam's defense.

Jordanian Mohammed Rashdan, who heads the defense team, is waiting in
Amman for assurances that the team can safely travel to Iraq.

Rashdan, affiliated with Saddam's collapsed Baath Party, has represented
the former Iraqi regime in several cases.

His team includes Washington lawyer Curtis Doebbler and French attorney
Emmanuel Ludot.

Days after Saddam's Dec. 13 capture, the former dictator's wife, Sajida
Khairallah Telfah, asked Rashdan to defend her husband, the lawyer said.

Ziad Tariq Aziz, the son of former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz,
appointed Rashdan's team Thursday to defend his father.

At an Arab summit in May, Gadhafi said he was "disgusted" that the
22-member Arab League had not done enough to represent Saddam.

"What's the significance of this Arab gathering?" Gadhafi said before
packing up and leaving the summit venue, Tunis. "How can this summit
convene while there are two Arab presidents in jail?

Gadhafi was referring to Saddam and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, who
has been holed up in his West Bank headquarters for more than two years,
besieged by Israeli forces.

Awesome ... and Libya's just had diplomatic relations restored with the U.S.
Guess that makes you a supporter of Saddam.