August 15
IRAQ:
Iraq Blocks Saddam Family Bid to Fire His Lawyers
The Iraqi tribunal trying Saddam Hussein on war crimes charges has blocked
a bid by his family to fire his vast team of defense lawyers, saying only
Saddam can make such a move, the family said on Sunday.
Last week a lawyer acting for Saddam's eldest daughter Raghd said the
family had scrapped the team of more than 2,000 attorneys claiming to be
representing Saddam and would build a new, better-organized defense team.
But the Iraqi Special Tribunal, the court set up to try the former
president and other senior members of his regime, blocked the family's
effort to shake up the defense team.
"We want to clarify some issues relating to the request to revoke all
powers of attorney. We are very surprised by such unlawful acts. The
exclusive right to empower any lawyer or to cancel any power of attorney
is for defendant Saddam Hussein," said a letter sent by the tribunal and
obtained by Reuters.
Saddam's family says many of the lawyers claiming to represent him were
never formally appointed and are more interested in self-promotion than
mounting a serious defense. It says they often gave conflicting legal
opinions.
More than 2,000 lawyers had volunteered for Saddam's defense team,
including former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and a daughter of
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Others who said they were on the team included Anglo-Italian lawyer
Giovanni di Stefano who once worked on behalf of former Serbian leader
Slobodan Milosevic, and Roland Dumas, a colorful octogenarian who served
as French foreign minister from 1988 to 1993 and acted as executor of
Pablo Picasso's estate.
FAMILY DEMANDS RIGHT TO RUN Defense
A letter sent by Raghd to the tribunal said the family was entitled to
choose Saddam's defense team because the ousted president was not able to
make such decisions freely himself.
"The family of the president is free to choose whoever it wants to defend
him and to remove whoever it wants for as long as he is denied freedom of
choice," Raghd's letter said.
Sources close to the family said they hoped the tribunal would change its
position, possibly under U.S. pressure.
The family demanded the presence of newly recruited lawyers alongside
Khalil Dulaimi, the Iraqi lawyer who attends Saddam's court hearings, to
ensure Saddam had adequate legal representation for a fair trial.
Raghd said legal advice the family was getting from senior British lawyers
whose identity has been kept confidential was to boycott the tribunal or
any committee interrogating Saddam until her father was given access to
heavyweight lawyers from abroad.
The new team was ready to come to Baghdad as soon as the Iraqi special
court gave them permission, Raghd said.
"We all able and willing to send legal specialists as soon as your
occupying masters allow them," the letter said, referring to U.S.-led
forces in Iraq.
Raghd also criticized the tribunal for preventing her family from seeing
Saddam, who aside from seeing a lawyer is isolated from the rest of the
world. The tribunal denies that Saddam has had his rights infringed.
So far Saddam has been formally charged in only one case -- the killing of
Shi'ite Muslims in the village of Dujail following a failed assassination
attempt in 1982. Officials say his trial could begin within 2 months.
If found guilty, he faces the death penalty.
(source: Reuters)
KENYA:
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL----Public Statement
AI Index: AFR 32/005/2005 (Public)
News Service No: 224 -- 15 August 2005
Kenya: Abolition of the death penalty is essential for a Constitution that
respects human rights
Amnesty International is calling on the government of Kenya to abolish the
death penalty as they consider a new Constitution. Enshrining the
abolition of the death penalty in the Constitution would be one of the
most important steps Kenya could take in securing respect for the human
rights of everyone under its jurisdiction.
The organization welcomes the decision taken by the government of Kenya
not to carry out any death sentences during its tenure of office and to
commute the death sentences of all those presently on death row to life
imprisonment. There is clear evidence that Africa is moving towards
universal abolition of the death penalty. Twelve of the 53 countries on
the continent have permanently abolished the death penalty, most recently
Senegal on 10 December 2004, UN Human Rights Day. Another 20 countries,
including Kenya, have not carried out executions for more than 10 years.
While Amnesty International recognizes the right of governments to ensure
that anyone suspected of involvement in criminal acts is brought to
justice, the organization opposes the death penalty as it is the ultimate
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and is a violation of the right to
life as recognized in international human rights standards, including the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A Constitution that prohibits the
death penalty and links the abolition of the death penalty to human
rights, in particular to the rights to life and physical and mental
integrity and specifically the right not to be subjected to torture or
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, is in line with
international human rights standards.
The Attorney General of Kenya Amos S. Wako has up to 24 August 2005 to
complete the drafting of the new Constitution of Kenya, which will then be
published for a referendum.
Amnesty International calls on the government of Kenya to further
implement the decision not to carry out any death sentences during its
tenure and to commute the death sentences of all those presently on death
row to life imprisonment, by proposing provisions abolishing the death
penalty in the draft Constitution.
(source: Amnesty International)
