(21 Nov 2006)
AP Television
New York, USA - 19 November 2006
1. Tilt up exterior of Empire State Building (which holds office of Human Rights Watch)
2. Person entering Human Rights Watch office
3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Nehal Bhuta, International Justice Programme and author of "Judging Dujail - The First Trial before the Iraqi High Tribunal":
"A large number of witnesses never appeared in court and were never questioned by the defence, even though their evidence was used by the court. A large amount of evidence was not shown to the defence before it was used in court, so there was a fair amount of trial-by-ambush. The level of detail of the charges was not very specific making it very hard to know exactly in what capacity each defendant was being charged and making it hard to prepare a defence case. And finally, we have an underlying concern that actually the prosecution investigation did not fully understand what they needed to prove under international criminal law to convict these individuals."
4. Close-up of hands holding the report 'Judging Dujail'
5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Nehal Bhuta, International Justice Programme and author of "Judging Dujail - The First Trial before the Iraqi High Tribunal":
"In principle the trial of Saddam Hussein could have been an opportunity to send a message to other authoritarian regimes in the region that justice may ultimately be served against them. But ultimately, the fact that the trial was so unfair means that it can be dismissed as simply a political exercise. I think it also represents an enormous failing on the part of United States policy because the United States was warned, well before this trial began, that these kind of problems may occur if they didn't opt for an international tribunal or for a court with significant international involvement. Instead, they insisted on an Iraqi-led or an Iraqi-controlled tribunal and that ultimately has proved incapable of insuring a credible trial."
POOL
FILE: Baghdad, Iraq - 22 August 2006
6. Wide shot Saddam Hussein and co-defendants in court
7. Close up Saddam Hussein
8. Medium shot, unidentified judge
9. Wide shot Saddam Hussein and co-defendants
STORYLINE:
A New York-based human rights group said on Monday that former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was not given a fair trial, claiming in a report that attorneys and judges undermined the legitimacy of the process by staging repeated walkouts and failing to uphold standards of international law.
In its 97-page report, Human Rights Watch called the soundness of the guilty verdict "questionable" and said the Iraqi High Tribunal was not equipped to handle such a complex case.
The document was based on observation of the trial and interviews with court officials, lawyers and other key parties, the group said.
Nehal Bhuta, the author of the report and member of the group's International Justice Programme, said it was "the most comprehensive report available on the first trial before the Iraqi High Tribunal and the first trial of Saddam Hussein."
Bhuta added: "The report shows, based on dozens of interviews and months of observation, that the court current is incapable of conducting fair trails."
Human Rights Watch said it found "serious procedural flaws," citing shortcomings in the timely disclosure of incriminating evidence.
It also said that the defendants were not allowed to properly confront witnesses, and that the judges at times did not maintain an impartial demeanor.
Bhuta outlined several areas of concern.
The Iraqi court was created in 2003 after the US invasion to prosecute cases of human rights violations in Iraq.
Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
