UN DECLARES SADDAM DETENTION AND TRIAL ILLEGAL
The Iraq Solidarity Campaign | 02.11.2006 11:49 | Anti-militarism | Anti-racism | Repression
A United Nations expert on human rights law body has declared the trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein before an Iraqi special court is illegal because it violates the right to fair trial under international law writes Saleh Al-Mukhter.
In the decision hand down on 1 September 2006, but not provide to the former Iraqi President's lawyers until just a few days ago, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that the "deprivation of liberty of Mr. Saddam Hussein is arbitrary, being in contravention of article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights to which Iraq and the United States are parties."
The Working Group—which consists of legal experts from Iran, Algeria, Paraguay, Spain and Hungary—spent more than two years collecting information and reviewing the case before making its decision. The Working Group's decisions are based on its interpretation of international treaties, primarily the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights. In this case the Working Group found article 14 of the International Covenant to have been violated in numerous ways.
On 30 November 2005, the Working Group had issued a Preliminary Opinion and requested the United States and Iraq to remedy the situation. Since then, as a second trial began, another defence lawyer has been killed, the United States government has continued to fail to provide adequate security, a relative of one of judges has been killed, the defence lawyers have been threatened to the extent that they can no longer safely participate in proceedings, and the violations of due process in the courtroom have continued.
"The decision of the UN Working Group is not surprising. Anyone who has been following the trial knows that it has been a gross abuse of law. The Working Opinion vindicates what I and other international legal experts have been claiming for months. The ball is now in the United States' court.
Together with the occupation government it have installed in Iraq, the United States government must decide if it will respect international law or whether it continue to act with disrespect for this law," said Dr. Curtis F.J. Doebbler, a professor law at An-Najah National University and the lawyer for the former Iraqi President who filed the case.
Doebbler added, "If the United States continues to so blatantly violate international law, the rest of the international community must impose very serious consequences. If they do not, we will have lost the war to all those who say that law does not count and that violence is the only way forward. Is this the message George Bush wants to send? It is the message he is sending."
The Working Group lacks authority to enforce its decisions, however, states that act contrary to the decision of the Working Group have been viewed a pariah state in the international community and often been subjected to sanctions, restrictions on the travel of their officials, and boycotts.
For further information contact Mr. Arno Develay at +1-646-853-7472.
The Iraq Solidarity Campaign
e-mail:
iraq_campaign@yahoo.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.iraqsolidaritycampaign.blogspot.com
Comments
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How interesting that the BBC News 24, the World Service, the Guardian say Zero
02.11.2006 12:51
London Thursday
1250 2 Nov 2006
The finding/ruling of the UNO Working party does not seem to have made any of the BBC, the Guardian or other UK or USA mainstream propaganda organs!
And in the British scene, the finding/ruling does not seem to have become the topic of the countless propaganda slots carried on the mass communication networks.
How is that showing even token recognition to the UNO, not to speak of to the values of international law, due process and rule of law [the values which are almost proprietarily claimed to have been solely created by the USA and UK...]
How amazing [!] that the CIA-friendly William Hague, who is prone to outBlair even Blair in his sick-making allegiance to the agenda of the Military Industrial Complex and who was apparently quite loud on the same lines in the London Hosue of Commons on Wednesday 1 November 2006, has not said a thing about the human rights and the rule of law and the principles of liberty and freedom as those apply to either Saddam Hussain or to the rest of humanity across the lands known collectively as the 'Middle East' !
Come to think of it, none of the ‘usually very learned and very knowledgeable and competent’ ‘commentators on law and civilisation, as used by the British and uSA academic institutions and mainstream propaganda outlets has said anything worth mentioning in defence of the human rights of so many defences lawyers who were appearing or attempting to appear before the so-called Iraqi court of law for Saddam Hussain before they were executed!
What other ex head of state in the World was so violently robbed of the legal pretences even, not to speak about legal protection to the rights that are so loudly contained in all the universal declarations on human rights that the imperialist racist propagandists for the MICs [Military Industrial Complexes as based in each territory] in the UA and the UK claim proprietorial authorship of ?
Justthought
And how very interesting- the BBC, Guardian, have said Zero on UNO
06.11.2006 14:47
Even after the alleged trial of Saddam ended and even after the alleged sentence was pronounced!
They have not said anything at all about the illegality of the whole farce!
And today, in the print Guardian, It is the pro-occupation, pro-Empire, pro-Crusade Max Hastings that makes a typically roundabout ‘case’ against GW Bush and Blair over the Saddam ‘sentence’.
Justthought