Lawyer: Saddam to claim Immunity

Saddam Hussein's defence lawyers will argue that he has immunity from prosecution at his trial in Iraq later this month, according to a London-based member of his legal team.

Lawyer Abdel Haq Alani told the BBC the former president will challenge the legality of the special tribunal, due to open inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone on 20 October.

"He had full immunity under the prevailing Iraqi constitution and you cannot have a retroactive legislation that removes that immunity," Alani said in an interview late on Thursday.

Iraqi officials say the only charge against Saddam so far is the killing of more than 140 men in the mostly Shia village of Dujail after a failed 1982 assassination attempt against him.

Alani said the defence will argue that those killed had been found guilty under Iraq's laws and Saddam's only role was to sign their death warrants.
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Under the previous constitution Saddam enjoyed full immunity.

IRAQI CONSTITUTION 1970

Article 40 Immunity

The President of the Revolutionary Command Council, the Vice-President, and the members enjoy full immunity. No measures can be taken against any of them without a priori permission of the Council.

Even the legitimacy of the court is strongly in doubt.

Hate him, or not you must believe it would be best to consider a court outside of Iraq.

Either way he's not going anywhere other than to his cell, and later to his reward.

If it were to come out later that some of the Foreign Judges on the Special Tribunal were responsible for denying Saddam True Justice we could make him into the greatest Marytr of the modern age.

Originally posted by ArchAngel
If it were to come out later that some of the Foreign Judges on the Special Tribunal were responsible for denying Saddam True Justice we could make him into the greatest Marytr of the modern age.

martyr? Hitler commit suicide and all we got were Neonazis. or the Japanese leaders who were hanged but the Japanese people dont want to remember them. all martyrs share the same thing....they are dead.

The only people who would consider him a marytr are the few fanatical supporters he has left. Saddam was not popular throughout the Muslim arab. Every single one of his neighbors hated him either because of the Iran-Iraq war, his Kuwaiti invasion, or his harsh persecution of Kurds and Shiites.

Internal court or external court. Hell, even if it is the International Criminal Court, I'd say Saddam Hussein must be punished. Hate him or like him, he has done alot of crimes in his life. I support the overthrow of him but not the method used by the U.S--invasion.

I raised this same question a few months back in this thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...'

I think its a totally legit question. How can be tried. What new laws of Iraq has he broken?

Originally posted by spliff4020
I raised this same question a few months back in this thread:

www.abovetopsecret.com...'

I think its a totally legit question. How can be tried. What new laws of Iraq has he broken?

www.cpa-iraq.org...

The Laws America imposed here.....