Defence begins closing arguments in Saddam trial
Defence lawyers began closing arguments in the Baghdad trial of Saddam Hussein on today, but the court was still reeling from the murder of one of Saddam’s top lawyers last month.
The lawyer for Ali Dayih Ali, a lower-level defendant in the case, was the first to deliver his argument.
The court will hear lawyers from each of the eight defendants in turn, then statements from each defendant.
Chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman opened the session expressing his regrets for the killing of Khamis al-Obeidi, one of Saddam’s lawyers, who was abducted from his Baghdad home on June 21 and found shot dead hours later on a street near the Shiite slum of Sadr City.
“We announce our deep sorrow and confirm that the court condemns any attack against lawyers or against any of those working in this court,” he said. Saddam’s chief lawyer, Khalil al-Duleimi, was absent from the court along with several other defence lawyers.
Saddam Hussein and several former top aides are on trial in a heavily-guarded courtroom in Baghdad for their alleged roles in a 1982 massacre in the Iraqi town of Dujail in reprisal for an assassination attempt on the former Iraqi dictator.
