The trial of Saddam Hussein marks the first time since the UN was created that a head of state has been put on trial by an invading, occupying power. This book, by the UK coordinator of Saddam Hussein's defense team, seeks to alert public attention to the threat this precedent poses to developing nations worldwide, and to its distortive influence on the further development of international law.
Al-Ani documents the trail of illegalities marking the destruction of Iraq at the hands of the US and UK, from the genocidal sanctions of the 1990s, the US State Department pre-invasion planning that commenced in 2001, and the 2003 invasion, to the setting up and proceedings of the Tribunal that swiftly dispatched Saddam Hussein.
While the Tribunal was intended to promote the image of a triumphant Iraqi democracy, the US was actually in control of all stages of the trial. It drafted the Tribunal's Statute, decided where the trial would be held, and what charges would be brought; researched, compiled, stored, and prevented access to evidence and documentation; elected and trained the judges, and micro-managed the proceedings.
Al-Ani follows the trial step by step, detailing its many failures and US micro-management: * Important documents were not given to defense lawyers in advance * no written transcript of the trial was kept * paperwork was lost * The defense was prevented from cross-examining witnesses * judges and numerous witnesses participated incognito, * defense lawyers were intimidated, three were assassinated * defense witnesses were frightened to come forward * defense lawyers could not communicate with their client or review the evidence
The trial itself was so farcical as to provoke international condemnation. International human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as UN bodies such as the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, have stated that the Iraqi Special Tribunal and its
