Saddam lawyers demand protection during trial

Justice the main priority
“We are professionals. We are not related to a political party,” al-Zubeidi said. He told the magazine he spent 14 months in jail in the 1960s and 1970s and had a history of Shiite radicalism.

The Iraqi High Tribunal, which is trying the case, expressed regret over the attacks on the lawyers but said it would “spare no effort” to “achieve justice” in the case. The statement appeared to rule out halting the trial or moving it out of the country.

“The tribunal will take every necessary step to guarantee that all the defendants have a complete defense in the next sessions,” the statement said. “This includes any necessary procedures in this regard, which the tribunal already offered to guarantee the safety of the defense council and their duties.”

Officials said last month that if defense lawyers refuse to appear, the tribunal could appoint a new team.

Doubts raised about trial
The killings have reinforced doubts among some human rights groups and international lawyers about holding such an emotionally charged trial in a country gripped by an insurgency. Shiites dominate the current government, and Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari’s Dawa Party has claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt that triggered the Dujail killings.

The trial also risks heightening tensions between majority Shiites, who were oppressed under Saddam, and the minority Sunnis, who dominated his regime.

As an example of sectarian tensions, two car bombs exploded Wednesday night near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad, killing six people, police said. Five policemen were killed when a suicide car bomber struck a patrol near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad.

Police in the northern city of Kirkuk confirmed Wednesday that the brother of a leading Sunni Arab politician was kidnapped the day before by gunmen wearing army uniforms. Hatam Mahdi al-Hassani is the brother of parliament speaker Hajim al-Hassani.

Sunni insurgents have threatened members of their community who take part in politics, but Iraq also has numerous criminal gangs involved in kidnappings.

In Baghdad, a driver for the Sudanese Embassy was shot to death Wednesday as he left the Palestinian mission, police said. The attack followed the abduction last month of two Moroccan Embassy employees.

Statements attributed to al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility and said the two had been sentenced to death. The group also said it was behind the kidnap-slaying in July of three diplomats as part of a campaign to cut ties between Muslim countries and the Iraqi government.

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