Jacques Verges to defend Sadaam Hussein

[Garrette]

Clancie,

Is it not telling that the iCRD (Red Cross) had no complaints or objections regarding Saddam's detention?

 

[Abdul Alhazred]

Do you think Verges is the right person for this job ?

Who do you think should defend Hussein?

I think the assumption is that there is going to be some sort of "international" trial.

That would be a very bad idea. Look at how they botched the prosecution of Milosovic.

The best bet is to turn Saddam Hussein over to the Kurds and let them decide on how to try him.

After that, the "international community" can have a crack at him if they like.

 

[Elio]

Garrette :

Article 20.
a) All persons shall be equal before the Tribunal.

b) Everyone shall be presumed innocent until proven guilty before the Tribunal in accordance with the law.

c) In the determination of any charge, the accused shall be entitled to a public hearing, having regard to the provisions of the Statute and the rules of procedure made hereunder.

d) In the determination of any charge against the accused pursuant to the present Statute, the accused shall be entitled to a fair hearing conducted impartially and to the following minimum guarantees:

1. to be informed promptly and in detail of the nature, cause and content of the charge against him;

2. to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defense and to communicate freely with counsel of his own choosing in confidence. The accused is entitled to have non-Iraqi legal representation, so long as the principal lawyer of such accused is Iraqi;

3. to be tried without undue delay;

4. to be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of this right; and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it;

5. to examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf under the same conditions as witnesses against him. The accused shall also be entitled to raise defences and to present other evidence admissible under this Statute and Iraqi law; and

6. not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt, and to remain silent, without such silence being a consideration in the determination of guilt or innocence.

Ok. So according to article d).2, the principal lawyer has to be an Iraqi. But a foreign laywer can be part of the team.

Hussein can then request Verges to be involved in his trial.

But can his request be rejected ?

I'm asking this because Verges is making a lot of noise saying he will make this trial an real embarrassment to France, GB and U.S (among other countries) and said he would call Donald Rumsfeld as a witness...

Has the american government - for instance - its word to say about who is going to defend Hussein ?

Verges also said that he's affraid Hussein will not make it to the trail, but rather be found dead one day in his cell...

Maybe it's a lot of noise again, but that would be very sad if something like that should happened. Not that I would shed a tear for that *%@§, but it would be a very bad way to start a new democratic justice system...


Abdul Alhazred :

I think the assumption is that there is going to be some sort of "international" trial.

That would be a very bad idea. Look at how they botched the prosecution of Milosovic.

Well, I don't find Milosevic prosecution particulary botched... What do you mean ?

The best bet is to turn Saddam Hussein over to the Kurds and let them decide on how to try him.

Now that wouldn't be a good idea at all as someone might simply shot him down instead of trialing him...

After that, the "international community" can have a crack at him if they like.

Even with my english dictionary, I can figure out what "to have a crack at someone" mean. (I hope I'm not to difficult to read, by the way...)

Take care.

Elio

 

[Abdul Alhazred]

Now that wouldn't be a good idea at all as someone might simply shot him down instead of trialing him...

Why do you think it's so important for him to have a trial? The important thing is for his victims to be the ones who execute him (and not the USA). If they want to have a trial first that's OK.

Even with my english dictionary, I can figure out what "to have a crack at someone" mean. (I hope I'm not to difficult to read, by the way...)

To have a chance to hit him.

 

[a_unique_person]

Hello everyone,

Apparently, Sadaam Hussein's nephew asked french mediatic lawyer Jacques Verges to defend his uncle. So did Tarik Aziz's family.

Will Verges be allowed to do that ?

Unfortunatly, with Verges as a laywer, there is a good chance than the whole trial will turn into a show.

On the other hand, none of the countries who supported Hussein and sold him weapons will be spared by Verges ...

Do you think Verges is the right person for this job ?

Who do you think should defend Hussein ?

See you.

Elio

He knows where all the skeletons are hidden in the closet. He just might decide to rat on some old friends, since he is finished anyway.

 

[Garrette]

Elio,

From my layman's reading of it, no, the Tribunal cannot turn down a request from Saddam to have Verges on the team. I do not think, however, that the Tribunal need even acknowledge a request from Saddam's relatives.

But if I wanted to split legal hairs and prevent Verges from representing Saddam, then I'd go after the bit about the primary lawyer needing to be Iraqi. If I were the Tribunal I might argue (not without merit) that Verges has already acted as the primary lawyer by talking about strategies to the media and that any statement otherwise would only be pretense.

So I guess it's possible that Verges might be rejected.


Abdul Alhazred:

No international trial. The Special Tribunal was established specifically to deal with Saddam and other Iraqis accused of war crimes.

 

[Elio]

Abdul Alhazred :

Why do you think it's so important for him to have a trial? The important thing is for his victims to be the ones who execute him (and not the USA). If they want to have a trial first that's OK.

Allow me to disagree, Abdul Alhazred.

What you just described here is a clear violation of human rights. Anyone has right to a fair trial. Even those who have no respect for human rights, like Saddam Hussein.

The coalition force in Irak is supposed to be there to avoid those things from happening anymore.

quote:

Even with my english dictionary, I can figure out what "to have a crack at someone" mean. (I hope I'm not to difficult to read, by the way...)



To have a chance to hit him.

Thanks.

a_unique_person :

He knows where all the skeletons are hidden in the closet. He just might decide to rat on some old friends, since he is finished anyway.

If those "skeletons" are relevant to the case. Then why not

From my layman's reading of it, no, the Tribunal cannot turn down a request from Saddam to have Verges on the team. I do not think, however, that the Tribunal need even acknowledge a request from Saddam's relatives.

But if I wanted to split legal hairs and prevent Verges from representing Saddam, then I'd go after the bit about the primary lawyer needing to be Iraqi. If I were the Tribunal I might argue (not without merit) that Verges has already acted as the primary lawyer by talking about strategies to the media and that any statement otherwise would only be pretense.

So I guess it's possible that Verges might be rejected.

Ok. Thanks for your input. So I'll wait and see...


Take care.

Elio

 

[Ziggurat]

Well, maybe with translators.... That shouldn't be a problem....

That's still a problem, just not an insurmountable problem. I guess it becomes more a question of who Saddam wants to aim his defense at: his judges or the western world? A french attorney probably isn't the best pick for the former, but might be good for the later. And while it's the former who can get him off the hook, he may decide he's doomed in that respect and try to keep from getting executed by garnering as much sympathy from outside as possible. But of course, it doesn't really matter if a French attorney says he wants to be Saddam's attorney, since it's ultimately up to Saddam and not the Frenchie.

Why a Syrian a lawer ? Of course Sadaam Hussein is a bastard ! But do you think he has the right to have a laywer. So, Why not Verges ?

Of course he should have a lawyer. It's not so much a question of why NOT Verges as why Verges? And I don't see any good reasons for it.

I doubt there are too many lawyers in Iraq who want to defend him (good way to make yourself a target for revenge killings), and he's certainly going to want a team of lawyers, not just one. The Ba'athists are still in control in Syria, and acting as a lawyer for Saddam may be a good way for Syrian lawyers to demonstrate their loyalty to fascist dictators, which could be good for their careers back home (as long as the Ba'athists stay in power). So that's why I'm guessing Syrians will be making an appearance.

Ultimately, though, I don't think it will matter much - he'll be convicted, and almost certainly condemned to die, regardless of who he chooses as a lawyer, because he is guilty.

 

[Tmy]

Ok I know about the Kurd gassing but when did Saddam kill 100,000's of Iraqis??


Might as well make the whole thing a show. The whole "trial" thing is rediculous anyway.

 

[ceo_esq]

Re: Re: Jacques Verges to defend Sadaam Hussein

Having practiced law in the same city as Verges for a number of years, I'm very familiar with Verges' reputation, although I've never met him. In case anyone doesn't know, he's the French version of Johnny Cochran - a real media celebrity and showman, and the best-known defense attorney in France. However, his reputation includes a lot of baggage that Cochran doesn't have.

He's known for taking on unwinnable cases, but he actually has lost the most famous ones. He has questionable political sympathies, seems to genuinely like his client base (mostly mass murderers, from all over the world), has extremely shady associations, and is a rabid antisemite. I've seen and read numerous interviews of him, and he gives me the creeps. Undeniably a very clever fellow, though.

Verges has his own page on AmIAnnoying.com, which I invite everyone to look at to get a brief overview of the man's more notorious accomplishments (sorry, link not working). A representative sample:

He befriended Pol Pot (1950).

He defended an accused Algerian terrorist in France [many, actually].

He defended Nazi Gestapo war criminal Klaus Barbie.

He defended Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal (Ilich Ramirez Sanchez).

He defended Holocaust-denier Roger Gaurady.

He wants to defend Slobodan Milosevic.

His law license was revoked and he served sixty days in jail for "anti-state activities" (1960).

He moved to Israel in 1968 to defend Palestinians.

He has an anti-US, anti-France and anti-Israel agenda.

He sued Amnesty International on behalf of Togo (1999).

His brother murdered a political rival of his father [don't know about this, but if memory serves his brother is a shady Communist politician in one of the former French colonies].

He married one of his clients, Djamila Bouhired a terrorist who was sentenced to death but later freed.

Except where I otherwise indicated, all of the foregoing things are corroborated by my previous knowledge of Verges' reputation.

 

[Flo]

I think even someone like Sadaam Hussein has right to a fair trial.

Abdul Alhazred :

Why do you think it's so important for him to have a trial? The important thing is for his victims to be the ones who execute him (and not the USA). If they want to have a trial first that's OK.

I don't think/care whether he has a right to anything. However, democratic, human rights respecting, international law abiding countries owe it to themselves to make sure even the most horrible monsters have a fair trial and are not just delivered to the lynch mobs.



Ceo_esq

Having practiced law in the same city as Verges for a number of years, I'm very familiar with Verges' reputation, although I've never met him. In case anyone doesn't know, he's the French version of Johnny Cochran - a real media celebrity and showman, and the best-known defense attorney in France. However, his reputation includes a lot of baggage that Cochran doesn't have.

In France, Verges is known as a publicity whore, a half-Vietnamese with a grudge against colonial powers, especially France, and the West in general. He'll (pretend to be committed to) defend absolutely anyone who has or is ready to harm the West, or take any case that could prove an embarassment to any Western government - especially France.