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Iraqi judges interrogate Saddam's aides
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-18 23:14

Iraqi judges on Saturday started interrogating Saddam Hussein's former defense minister and the notorious general known as Chemical Ali, opening the first phase in the trial process for leading figures of the ousted regime.

A video grab shows Saddam Hussein's cousin and feared lieutenant Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" appearing before an investigating magistrate in an undisclosed location, December 18, 2004. The hearings, promised by the interim government as it began campaigning for the first post-Saddam election, were the first of a new stage in the trial process that will press war crimes and other charges against Saddam and 11 others, officials said. [Reuters]

Sultan Hashim Ahmad, Saddam's last defense chief, and Ali Hassan al-Majid, accused of using poisonous chemical gas against thousands of Kurds in the 1980s, are the first to appear from among 11 Saddam deputies who, along with Saddam himself, face prosecution for crimes during the ousted dictator's three decade rule.

"Ali Hassan al-Majid and Sultan Hashim have been interrogated and their lawyers attended the investigative hearing," said Raad al-Juhyi.

"Ali Hassan al-Majid and Sultan Hashim have been interrogated and their lawyers attended the investigative hearing," said Raad al-Juhyi.

Former Iraqi Defense Minister Gen. Sultan Hashim Ahmad, appears in a courtroom at Camp Victory, in this July 1, 2004 file photo. Saddam Hussein's defense minister, who surrendered to American forces last year, will appear along with another notorious general, known as Chemical Ali, when investigative trials open next week, an official said Friday Dec. 17, 2004. [AP]

Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said on Tuesday that detained leaders of Saddam's toppled regime would start appearing before court in the coming week.

Officials close to the Special Tribunal that has been established to try Saddam and the leaders on a range of charges linked to the former dictator's three decade rule have said Saddam and 11 of his top leaders would face initial investigative hearings.

"This (the Saturday hearings) is what the doctor (Allawi) announced," said Thair al-Naqeeb, spokesman for the interim prime minister. He added that the hearing was closed to the media.

The tribunal has said the investigative hearings are the first step of the trial process for Saddam and his defendants and will be run by investigative judges.

Former Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad, seen in this March 23, 2003 file photo. Saddam Hussein's defense minister, who surrendered to American forces last year, will appear along with another notorious general, known as Chemical Ali, when investigative trials open next week, an official said Friday Dec. 17, 2004. [AP]

"We should make a distinction between the trial and the investigation," al-Juhyi said. "We are talking about the investigation and Ali Hasan al-Majid has been interrogated about the charges against him. We're in the investigation phase. Ali Hasan al-Majid, like other defendants, appeared before the investigative judge."

Al-Juhyi did not specify the charges against al-Majid, but the former general is accused of ordering the 1988 Halabja chemical weapons attacks that killed thousands of Kurds, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and suppressing a 1991 Shiite uprising in southern Iraq (news - web sites).

Ahmad surrendered to U.S. forces in September 2003 at a coalition military base in Mosul, but was not considered to be a war crimes suspect and many had expected that he would be freed after being questioned.

The judges interrogating the ex-regime leaders are expected to gather evidence against them before laying formal charges, after which the detainees will face fully fledged trials.

Putting former Baath regime leaders on trial is seen as a crucial step in Iraq's post-Saddam reconstruction, but human rights groups and lawyers for the defendants have raised concerns over the access of legal representatives to the detainees.

Iraq's justice minister has also accused his government of rushing to try the officials, and that the trial process should begin only after Iraq holds its Jan. 30 elections.

"Trials as symbolic as those against the dignitaries of the former regime should only start after the establishment of an Iraqi government with ballot-box legitimacy," Justice Minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan told Swiss newspaper Le Temps in an interview published Thursday.

Allawi's critics have also accused him of announcing the commencement of the hearings to gain political points ahead of next month's national elections, the first since Saddam was captured a year.

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