Ahmed Mukhtar, in Baghdad, gauges public reaction to the start of the trial of the former Iraqi president Almost a week after Saddam Hussein's first appearance in court, his trial continues to dominate public debate in Iraq and has resulted in mixed reactions from the Iraqi people. Hussein's 26- minute appearance was the first step in the lengthy process of being tried for committing crimes against humanity. He was preceded in court by 11 of his top lieutenants who were accused of being accessories to many of the crimes Hussein is charged with. The name of the young Shia judge presiding over Hussein's trial was finally disclosed to the press after being withheld for security reasons. Judge Raed Juhi obtained a law degree from Baghdad University during the ousted president's rule, and his performance during the first trial day last Thursday gave rise to a variety of reactions throughout the country. Much of the Iraqi public has already passed verdict on Hussein. Ali Mohamed Hussein, a 29-year-old barber in Sadr City, said: "He committed all these crimes against the Iraqi people, so a verdict should be handed down immediately." Sayyid Hussein Al- Musawi, a 32-year-old teacher, said he hoped Saddam's trial would be a lesson to "tyrants who strip their people of their will". The Interim Governing Council (IGC) established the court last December after obtaining approval from the occupation authorities. The legal basis for this trial is Iraqi criminal law which was passed in 1969 and amended in 1972. But the trial process, it seems, is beset with problems. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a source within the court said there are still many security and administrative problems, particularly at the lower levels. There are also problems with the investigators, as well as a shortage of competent judges. In order to avoid employing former members of the Baath party, the court administration has employed newly graduated lawyers who have experience with criminal law cases. According to these young lawyers, collecting evidence is difficult, and they expressed a hope that more experienced professionals would join their ranks. Iraq's Shia and Kurdish populations share a similar attitdue to Saddam's trial. Abdul-Rahaman Fattah, a 28- year-old Kurd working in Baghdad, said: "Saddam's execution is not enough. We must make him suffer." Jawan Ali, a 24-year-old university student thinks the tribunal in Baghdad is useless. "He should be tried in Halabja, where he and his cousin 'Chemical Ali' committed the most heinous of crimes," she said. Some leading Shia figures have also voiced their concerns about the trial. Sheikh Abdul-Mehdi Al-Karbalai, the representative of the leading Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, has called for public disclosure of the classified files detailing the charges against Saddam Hussein. "The trial of Saddam Hussein must prepare all the possibilities for disclosing the crimes of the dictator of which people were unaware," Al-Karbalai said in his Friday sermon in Karbala. He also stressed that the trial should "not divert people's attention from the big issues, namely the selection of the national assembly and the elections in January 2005". Khadija Ghalib, a 45-year-old government employee, said that any other president would have acted the same in Saddam's place and that "the majority of Iraqis who are trying him now supported his actions in the past". In Samarra, hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated on the streets in support for the former president. "We sacrifice our blood and soul for you," were the shouts from crowds gathered on Friday. Taha Mohamed described the trial as "no more than a ploy". "Those who are trying Saddam were appointed by the occupation authorities, and they have no legitimacy," he said. The head of Saddam's defence team, Mohamed Rashdan, referred to the trial as a "show trial". On his first day in court Saddam Hussein refused to sign a statement indicating he had been read his rights, and said he refused to answer any questions without his lawyer present. Rashdan said his client should not have been questioned in court without his lawyer present. Rashdan also accused the Iraqi government of issuing death threats to his colleagues. He claimed that Iraqi Minister of Justice Malik Duhan Al-Hassan said that members of Saddam Hussein's defence team would be "chopped to pieces" if they came to Baghdad. The Iraqi official denied the accusation and asked Saddam's defence team to work within the legal code as stipulated by the Iraqi Bar Association. On Monday, Iraqi authorities said that non- Iraqi lawyers would not be allowed to defend Saddam Hussein before obtaining prior approval from the Iraqi Bar Association.
