Hussein Trial Prosecutor Asks Judge to Step Down

The chief prosecutor in the trial against Saddam Hussein and six codefendants on genocide charges demanded Wednesday that the presiding judge step down after an outburst by the former dictator the day before.

Prosecutor Munqith Faroon charged that the presiding judge, Abdullah Amiri, had shown bias in favor of Hussein by allowing the deposed president to use the courtroom as a bully pulpit.

“You allowed this court to become a political podium for the defendants,” the prosecutor told Amiri. “The defendants have gone too far with unacceptable expressions and words.”

The judge, a Shiite Muslim, dismissed the criticism and refused to step down, arguing that his job was inherently unpopular.

“If the judge is fair, half of society is against him,” Amiri said. “We are all equal in front of the law.”

Hussein frequently comments on current events during trial sessions, suggesting that despite his imprisonment he still keeps a close eye on the political situation in the country. On several occasions, the former leader has tried to turn the tables on his accusers, saying they are trying to divide Iraq.

On Tuesday, he had vowed to “crush the heads” of his accusers, triggering the prosecution’s call Wednesday for the judge to step down.

Faroon’s demand came on a day of graphic testimony from Kurds who recalled chemical bombing attacks against their people in the 1980s, when Hussein’s forces were both at war with Iran and seeking to repress rebellion in Iraq’s Kurdish north.

“I’m sitting here in this court with blind eyes and a burned body,” said 42-year-old Omer Mohammed, one of four witnesses testifying about an attack in 1988. As aircraft dropped their bombs, Mohammed was covered by liquid chemicals. The sensation, he testified, was “as if boiling water was being poured on my body.”

After the attack, Mohammed learned to sleep on his knees because any other position was too painful. Burns still cover his body, he said, “from my chest to my legs.”

Hussein and the other defendants face the death penalty if convicted on charges that they orchestrated the slaughter of as many as 100,000 people in a crackdown known as the Anfal campaign. The codefendants include Hussein’s cousin, Ali Hassan Majid, who was nicknamed Chemical Ali for his alleged role in the use of chemical weapons against the Kurds.

Hussein is awaiting a verdict in a separate case in which he and seven codefendants were charged with killing 148 Shiites after a 1982 assassination attempt against him in Dujayl. The verdict is expected Oct. 16.

*

louise.roug@latimes.com