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Iraq: Saddam Trial Resumes; Defendant Testifies

Posted on: Monday, 13 March 2006, 09:00 CST

Al-Iraqiyah Television at 0822 gmt on 13 March begins to carry from Baghdad a recording of the 16th session of the trial of the deposed Iraqi President Saddam Husayn and seven co-defendants in the Al-Dujayl case.

The relay begins with the testimony of Muhammad Azzawi Ali Muhammad al-Marsumi.

At the beginning of the trial session, presiding Judge Ra'uf Rashid Abd-al-Rahman says that the court appointed an attorney to represent Al-Marsumi in the trial session because his attorney apologized for being unable to attend the trial, as he was hospitalized for surgery.

Saddam's defence panel, including lawyers Khalil al-Dulaymi, Najib al-Nu'aymi and Ramsey Clark, are seen in attendance.

Only the three co-defendants who testified before the court on 12 March are seen in the dock.

The defendant says that he was a peasant before he was arrested.

When asked about his whereabouts on 8 July 1982, when the attempt on Saddam Husayn's life occurred in Al-Dujayl, Al-Marsumi says that he was outside Al-Dujayl. Elaborating on this, he says: "I came from Samarra, and found military personnel heavily deployed on the main road. Searches were being conducted. They arrested whomever they wanted. Some military personnel were standing; they made no move. I came and stood there, like others."

Al-Marsumi adds that, along with Kurdish peddlers and others, he was taken to the Ba'th Party group headquarters in Al-Dujayl on the day of the incident. He acknowledges having seen co-defendant Barzan al-Tikriti at the Ba'th Party group headquarters in Al-Dujayl. He also acknowledges having seen former Iraqi Interior Minister Sa'dun Shakir and former Salah al-Din Governor Iyadah Sudayd at the party group headquarters in Al-Dujayl.

Al-Marsumi denies having seen co-defendant Taha Yasin Ramadan, along with the party official in the Al-Dujayl area, even though he made a statement to this effect in previous testimony. He also denies having seen co-defendant Abdallah Ruwayyid there.

Furthermore, Al-Marsumi denies having seen dead people on the road even though he made a statement to this effect in previous testimony. He also denies having seen people arrested and brought to the party group headquarters in Al-Dujayl.

Al-Marsumi denies having said in earlier testimony that the arrests and killings in Al-Dujayl were managed by co-defendant Barzan al-Tikriti and people affiliated with him, saying: "Sir. Such statements are not part of my testimony. I regard this as sedition. It is a shame for the judge to have statements that I did not make considered part of my testimony."

Elaborating on this, Al-Marsumi says: "I am an illiterate person. By God, I will never lie to you even if this [he points his hand to his neck] is chopped off."

Al-Marsumi acknowledges having been a party member, but he denies having been a member of the Popular Army. He also denies having been involved in arrests, in informing on people or in house searches. He says that it was security personnel and not party members who made arrests in Al-Dujayl. He denies having seen dead people on the streets or in the orchards of Al-Dujayl. However, he acknowledges having seen a military man killed in front of the party group headquarters.

When asked about the number of dead bodies he saw at the party group headquarters, Al-Marsumi says that there might be four, including the aforesaid military man who was killed by military personnel.

Al-Marsumi acknowledges having heard the sound of bullets in a remote area, and having seen a helicopter that did not open fire in the Al-Dujayl area.

When asked who made the arrests in Al-Dujayl, Al-Marsumi says that he does not know who did so. He denies having heard of executions of residents of Al-Dujayl following the attempt on Saddam Husayn's life there.

The presiding judge asks Al-Marsumi to talk about the issue of Ahmad Mijbil, his maternal cousin, which he addressed in a testimony he made before Judge Ra'id Juhi on 1 June 2005.

Al-Marsumi says that during a seminar held at the Ba'th Party Group Headquarters, former Salah al-Din Governor Iyadah Sudayd asked him to make an effort to make deserters who are related to him surrender to the authorities. Iyadah mentioned the name of Husayn Mijbil. Al-Marsumi adds that he advised his relatives to either surrender or flee Al-Dujayl. Al-Marsumi says that his maternal cousin, Ahmad Mijbil, who was charged with being a member of the Al- Da'wah Party, fled to Iran, where, according to hearsay, he was killed.

At 0847 gmt, Public Prosecutor Ja'far al-Musawi begins to question Al-Marsumi, saying that Al-Marsumi previously made two testimonies, one before an investigator and the other before a judicial panel comprised of three judges, a public prosecutor and a defence attorney. Al-Marsumi responds to this, saying: "Two boys came to the centre [not further identified], where they interrogated me. Whenever I uttered a single word, they wrote four lines. Trust me, I am telling you the truth." When queried whether his defence attorney was present during the interrogation, Al-Marsumi says that the attorney was not present at the initial phase of the interrogation.

According to a testimony Al-Marsumi previously made, as read by Public Prosecutor Al-Musawi, Al-Marsumi acknowledges having seen "co- defendant Barzan Ibrahim al-Hasan, surrounded by several military personnel, and Ba'thists, including Iyadah Amir Sudayd, Sa'dun Shakir, the then interior minister."

According to this testimony, as read by Public Prosecutor Al- Musawi, Al-Marsumi is also quoted as saying: "I also saw Ahamd Ibrahim Hassun al-Samarra'i, the then secretary of the group; Abdallah Kazim Ruwayyid; Yunus Ahmad Ghazal; Muzhir Abdallah Kazim; Latif Ruwayyid; Nizar Mahmud al-Nada al-Hayyani; and Mish'an Dahham [at the party group headquarters in Al-Dujayl on the day of the incident] While I was at the party group headquarters, I asked what happened. They told me that Saddam Husayn had been targeted by an assassination attempt. I stayed at the party group headquarters because I was a partisan in the disbanded Ba'th Party. During my stay there, the Special Guard Force and intelligence personnel brought in five dead bodies to the group headquarters and asked me to identify them. But I could not identify them." Al-Marsumi reacts furiously while Al-Musawi reads this testimony.

At 0923 gmt, the questioning of Al-Marsumi is concluded.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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