/fdata%2F1671089%2Favatar-blog-1077428672-tmpphpxnkvfe.gif){kind=avatar}
1/22/2006 6:00:00 PM GMT
<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
Saddam's lawyers plan to file a law suit against the American President and the British PM
Lawyers defending the toppled Iraqi leader SADDAM HUSSEIN said Sunday they're planning to file a law suit against the U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH and British Prime Minister TONY BLAIR, the United Press International reported Sunday.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Saleh Armouti, President of the Jordan Bar Association, who recently joined Saddam's defense team, said that the lawyers plan to file a law suit against the American President and the British Prime Minister in a European international court, on charges of illegally invading and occupying IRAQ.
SADDAM's trial is set to resume Tuesday.
SADDAM and seven members of his former regime are facing charges of killing 148 Shias in the Iraqi town of Dujail north of Baghdad in 1982 after a failed attempt to assassinate the former Iraqi President.
SADDAM's defense team will also ask for the immediate release of Saddam "because his arrest is a violation of international charters after the United States declared an end to hostilities and war in Iraq," Armouti said.
* Army officer found guilty in Iraqi's death
The highest-ranking U.S. Army officer charged with killing a detainee in IRAQ was found guilty of negligent homicide late Saturday in the death of an Iraqi general at a detention camp.
But Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr was spared a conviction of murder that could have sent him to prison for life.
A jury of six army officers found Welshofer not guilty of the murder of Maj-Gen Abed Hamed Mowhoush who dies in Iraq in 2003.
The Army officer, now faces up to three years in jail for homi, was acquitted of assault after six hours of deliberations.
Prosecutors said that Welshofer put a sleeping bag over the head of Mowhoush, sat on his chest and used his hand to cover the general's mouth while asking him questions in 2003.
It's one of various cases involving death of prisoners the U.S. holds in IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN.
Welshofer, who showed no reaction when the verdict was announced at the trial, Welshofer faces a dishonorable discharge and up to three years in prison for negligent homicide and three months for negligent dereliction of duty.
The defense claimed that a heart condition was behind Mowhoush's death, affirming that senior commanders approved the interrogation method used against the Iraqi General, who died while being held at Al Qaim in Iraq, near the Syrian border.
"What he was doing he was doing in the open, and he was doing it because he believed the information in fact would save lives," attorney Frank Spinner claimed, adding that he was disappointed with the verdict.
"The verdict recognizes the context in which these events took place," he said. "It was a very difficult time in Iraq. There was confusion, and they were not getting clear guidance from headquarters."
Welshofer sent an e-mail to a commander, prosecutor Maj. Tiernan Dolan said, stating that restrictions on interrogation techniques were impeding the the soldiers' ability to gather intelligence, adn that authorized methods came from Cold War-era doctrine that did not apply in IRAQ.
"Our enemy understands force, not psychological mind games," Dolan quoted from Welshofer's message.
More on Iraq...
* CAIR sends delegation to secure Carroll's release <o:p></o:p>
* Shias win Iraq's elections <o:p></o:p>
* "Fraud marred Iraq's polls" <o:p></o:p>
* 10 Iraqis killed, 2 foreigners seized in bloody ambush <o:p></o:p>
More on Iraq...
|
|
War-era doctrine that did not apply in IRAQ.
It's one of various cases involving death of prisoners the U.S. holds in IRAQ and AFGHANISTAN.
he highest-ranking U.S. Army officer charged with killing a detainee in IRAQ was found guilty of negligent homicide late Saturday in the death of an Iraqi general at a detention camp.
Lawyers defending the toppled Iraqi leader SADDAM HUSSEIN said Sunday they’re planning to file a law suit against the U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH and British Prime Minister TONY BLAIR, the United Press International reported Sunday.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, Saleh Armouti, President of the Jordan Bar Association, who recently joined Saddam's defense team, said that the lawyers plan to file a law suit against the American President and the British Prime Minister in a European international court, on charges of illegally invading and occupying IRAQ.
SADDAM's trial is set to resume Tuesday.
SADDAM and seven members of his former regime are facing charges of killing 148 Shias in the Iraqi town of Dujail north of Baghdad in 1982 after a failed attempt to assassinate the former Iraqi President.
SADDAM's defense team will also ask for the immediate release of Saddam "because his arrest is a violation of international charters after the United States declared an end to hostilities and war in Iraq," Armouti said.
