US military saved me: Iraqi lawyer
By
Dahr Jamail in Damascus
When the Iraqi High Court re-adjourned on April 16 for the trial of former Iraqi officials charged with participating in attacks against the Kurdish minority in the 1980s, the defence team was without one of its chief attorneys.
Badie Arief ";Izzat, head of the defence team representing those accused of gassing the Kurds in Halabja during the Anfal campaign in 1986, says he was assisted out of the country by the US military. He arrived in Damascus, Syria on April 11.
In January, Izzat, who also represents former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, had been held in contempt for suggesting in a television interview that the court had "participated in the murder of Saddam Hussein" because his execution order had been carried out without presidential ratification – a pre-condition required according to the Iraqi constitution.
(On December 30, President Jalal Talabani did not sign the execution order. It was instead signed by Nur Al Maliki, the prime minister.)
In early April, Iraqi judge Mohammad Al-Uraibi ordered Izzat to be detained and jailed for seven years after the defence lawyer claimed Iran – not Iraq - used chemical weapons against the Kurds in 1986.
Izzat said he had in his possession CIA documents to prove the case.
'Clear rift' >>>cont
Dahr Jamail in Damascus
When the Iraqi High Court re-adjourned on April 16 for the trial of former Iraqi officials charged with participating in attacks against the Kurdish minority in the 1980s, the defence team was without one of its chief attorneys.
Badie Arief ";Izzat, head of the defence team representing those accused of gassing the Kurds in Halabja during the Anfal campaign in 1986, says he was assisted out of the country by the US military. He arrived in Damascus, Syria on April 11.
In January, Izzat, who also represents former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, had been held in contempt for suggesting in a television interview that the court had "participated in the murder of Saddam Hussein" because his execution order had been carried out without presidential ratification – a pre-condition required according to the Iraqi constitution.
(On December 30, President Jalal Talabani did not sign the execution order. It was instead signed by Nur Al Maliki, the prime minister.)
In early April, Iraqi judge Mohammad Al-Uraibi ordered Izzat to be detained and jailed for seven years after the defence lawyer claimed Iran – not Iraq - used chemical weapons against the Kurds in 1986.
Izzat said he had in his possession CIA documents to prove the case.
'Clear rift' >>>cont
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 1:04 PM
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