Iraq’s Aziz says will not testify against Saddam

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Tareq Aziz, the Iraqi former deputy
prime minister, denied on Tuesday that he might testify against
his former president Saddam Hussein in a trial that could begin
in a couple of months.

In an effort to quash speculation that the man who was
Saddam’s envoy to the outside world might turn star witness for
the prosecution, Aziz delivered a statement through his lawyer.

“I would like to make clear … that I will not testify
against anyone and, in particular, I will not testify against
Saddam Hussein,” attorney Badia Aref quoted Aziz saying in a
note he passed the lawyer during a meeting earlier in the day.

So far, Saddam has been formally charged in one case — the
killing of dozens of Shi’ite Muslims from the village of Dujail
after a failed assassination attempt in 1982. If he is found
guilty, he faces the death penalty. An Iraqi judge said on
Monday the trial was expected to begin in two months.

Dujail is seen as a relatively minor case among the many
accusations of genocide and crimes against humanity leveled at
the ousted president and his senior advisers. But prosecutors
hope it will be easier to secure a conviction in a smaller
case.

Saddam is awaiting trial at a U.S.-run high-security camp
on the outskirts of Baghdad. He has appeared before Iraq’s war
crimes tribunal along with several aides, including Aziz.

No charges have yet been brought publicly against Aziz, who
Aref said, was last questioned by a magistrate on June 24.