The Hindu Business Line : Mockery of law, travesty of justice

If, pursuant to what is so obviously a travesty of justice, Saddam is executed, it will be nothing but an outrageous act of judicial murder, and a mockery of rule of law.

Justice should not only be done, but be seen to be done. This, and due process, are two time-honoured maxims which are held sacrosanct throughout the English-speaking world, and nowhere more fervently than in the US and its mother country, the UK.

In the trial of Saddam Hussein, those two sacred principles were violated in letter and spirit from start to finish: The setting up the Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal with no sanction under International Law and under the shadow of the all-powerful occupying force of the US which had been working its will on a supposedly elected but in reality subservient, Iraqi Government dominated by Shias inimically disposed to the accused, the procedures adopted for the trial, the trial itself in a location where fairness and impartiality were severely compromised, the verdict that was universally taken to be foregone and its timing just a couple of days before the Congressional elections in the US.

One cannot but agree with the CPI (M) when it says that "this is nothing but a totally rigged verdict delivered after a farcical trial." The terse but aptly crafted statement by the External Affairs Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, questioning the verdict as going against "credible due process of law", dismissing the outcome as "victor's justice" and doubting its acceptability to the people of Iraq as well as the international community says it all on behalf of the Government of India in a tellingly pointed manner.

To give the US media its due, it has been unsparing in its characterisation of the trial and the verdict as `flawed', as an editorial in The New York Times put it. Here is a compilation of opinions from columnists and legal experts in Western countries who are no sympathisers of Saddam: "...powerful politicians regularly tried to influence the outcome, judges were not allowed to rule impartially, and defence lawyers were denied security measures and documents they needed....(the) nine-month-long trial (was not) the model of fairness that the Bush administration and many Iraqis had hoped for: Three defence lawyers were murdered, a judge was pressured into resigning and many of the 39 courtroom sessions were chaotic...the trial was tumultuous, deeply flawed and often painful to watch; and some of the brave Iraqis who committed themselves to making it work lost their lives... this tribunal has not shown itself to be fair and impartial — not only by international standards, but by Iraqi standards. There is significant evidence of political pressure".

Any doubt as to whether the condemnation is overdrawn is unambiguously set at rest by the Amnesty International which has an impeccable record of opposition to Saddam's excesses when he was in power: "...quite clearly the impartiality of the court was jeopardised by political interference, with the first judge resigning complaining he was coming under political pressure. A second judge was appointed but never sat. political pressure (was brought) throughout. The government was looking for a verdict and death penalty..."

If, pursuant to what is so obviously a travesty of justice, Saddam is executed, it will be nothing but an outrageous act of judicial murder, and a mockery of rule of law so pontifically preached to others by the US and the UK. The US must remember that, going by the same yardstick it has applied to Saddam, its own present and past leaders have much to answer for in much the same terms.

B. S. Raghavan

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