Government interference with the independence of the judges in the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants threatens the fairness of the proceedings, Human Rights Watch has said. The trial is scheduled to resume in Baghdad on Sunday.
“The demand for Presiding Judge Rizgar Amin’s dismissal, which contributed to his resignation, was nothing less than an attack on judicial independence,” said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch.
Parliamentarians from the ruling party have demanded Judge Amin’s dismissal, while senior Iraqi government officials publicly criticized his handling of the trial and chided him for being too lenient with Saddam Hussein. Nevertheless, at other times the same government officials insisted that the tribunal was independent of political pressure.
Iraq’s De-Ba`athification Commission challenged the appointment of Judge Saeed al-Hammashi as successor to Judge Amin. The Commission claimed al-Hammashi was ineligible to sit on the court due to his alleged former membership in the Ba'ath Party. Judge al-Hammashi was subsequently transferred from the trial chamber.
“The removal of Judge al-Hammashi from the trial created the appearance of a court that is continually subjected to political interference,” said Dicker. “Sitting judges cannot be shuffled around as though they were deck chairs on the Titanic.”
