Two lawyers dead. Can Saddam trial take place?

Becky Diamond Correspondent

BAGHDAD — Adel al-Zubeidi, a lawyer for former Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan — a co-defendant in Saddam Hussein's trial — was shot and killed on Tuesday. Another attorney associated with the defense of Saddam and other ousted Iraqi officials was wounded in the attack.

The assassination of a second lawyer associated with the trial calls into question the feasibility of conducting the trial for Saddam and his co-defendants in Iraq. (The other lawyer, Saadoun al-Janabi, was abducted and killed on Oct. 20.)

NBC News' Becky Diamond reports on what the latest violence means for the future of Saddam’s trial, the likelihood that the case will be tried in Iraq, and what the latest attack means for the future of the Iraqi justice system in general. 

What does the assassination of a lawyer for a co-defendant of Saddam Hussein, and the attempted assassination of another defense lawyer, mean for the future of the Saddam trial?
It raises questions as to whether a fair trial can proceed in a climate of fear.

Many people that you speak to here have no doubt that Saddam Hussein is guilty of the crimes he’s been accused of. But he, according to a contemporary justice system, deserves a fair trial — as fair as anyone else.

So that means that his lawyers have to have access to him. They have to be able to operate and move around freely. Right now because of the violence in Iraq, and the specific violence targeted towards them, they can’t do that.

There are human rights groups that are concerned, and I think that the international community is concerned as to whether or not you can have a fair trial in Iraq.

How likely is it that these most recent attacks will lend further credence to the demands by some of the defense lawyers, as well as the international groups like Human Rights Watch, that the trial of Saddam’s trial and that of his co-defendants will be moved? 
The Western officials that are here, the U.S. officials that are here, won’t speculate about that issue. They insist that the decision as to where to hold the trial is the Iraqi government’s decision.

There is support here to have his trial here. This is the place where he ruled, these are the people that he allegedly murdered, and these are the people that want him brought to justice. So, there is a case to be made that the trial stay here.

However, human rights groups and some Iraqis say that this just isn’t a place where you can have a fair trial. They point to Slobodan Milosevic being tried in front of the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague, or the Rwandan genocide tribunals. Both of those procedures are taking place outside of the host country.

So, you have to wonder what is the right way to handle this particular case. There is no perfect solution, so they just have to find the best solution.

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