|
Changes of saddam trail in 2004 remote Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/403419|top|09-24-2004::12:47|reuters.htmlhttp://news.myway.com/top/article/id/403419|top|09-24-2004::12:47|reuters.html
U.S. Sees Chances of Saddam Trial in 2004 'Remote'
Sep 24, 12:30 PM (ET)
By Ibon Villelabeitia
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The chances of trying former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in 2004 are remote, a U.S. official said Friday, casting doubt on remarks by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi who said the trial could begin as early as October.
Allawi, who has urged Iraq's Special Tribunal to speed up proceedings against Saddam and his associates, has said he wants the trial to begin next month, before elections set for January.
But the U.S. official told reporters: "If you are talking of a Saddam Hussein trial in 2004, I think that is remote. It's a very difficult schedule to meet ...
"You are talking of a 25-year period with numerous and large crime bases and the investigation has to take place in all those crime bases. It is almost October," said the official, who part of a team of Americans advising the tribunal.
Court officials have argued the tribunal, set up shortly after Saddam's regime was toppled, needs at least a year to delve into tons of documents and prepare trials that will examine the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.
The former tribunal head, Salem Chalabi, Thursday accused Allawi of manipulating the court to boost his popularity and planning hasty show trials and executions.
The U.S. official said he was unaware of attempts by Allawi to pressure the tribunal, including moves to halt the investigation of former Baathist party members regarded as allies of Allawi, himself a former Baathist.
"Nobody from any quarter has pressured the tribunal to do anything ... I have seen no evidence whatsoever that anybody is trying to halt any investigation," the official said.
He declined to speculate on a timetable for a trial of Saddam and his associates, but said it would depend on the scope and the number of charges brought against the defendants.
"For example, you have Hassan al-Majid ("Chemical Ali"). He is involved in many different crimes and in many different events. What are you going to charge him with? How many charges? Those are things they have to consider."
Chalabi, a U.S.-educated lawyer appointed by Washington to head the tribunal, has accused the Iraqi government of ousting him as part of a political vendetta. He has denied reports he resigned after murder charges were brought against him.
The official said Chalabi had been replaced as its chief administrator.
Saddam -- deposed in last year's U.S.-led war on Iraq -- appeared before a U.S.-appointed judge on July 1 and was informed he was being investigated for crimes against humanity.
Several top aides also appeared separately before the same judge. Pending trial, they are being held in a secret location by U.S. forces under Iraqi jurisdiction.
Violence was delaying the trial of Saddam and his associates, the U.S. official said, making it difficult for investigators to travel to exhumation sites and hampering the transport of bulldozers and other heavy digging equipment.
"Security has slowed tremendously the process," the official said. "We are talking of a lot of different massacre sites and we have to make decisions in terms of where we can go and where we can't."
|
|
