VZCZCXRO0961
OO RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK RUEHMOS
DE RUEHGB #0729/01 0661548
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071548Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3129
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 000729 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS KCRM KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: TRIAL OF SADDAM HUSSEIN - SESSIONS 13 AND 14 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On Day 13 (February 28) and Day 14 (March 
1) of the Iraqi High Tribunal's (IHT's) Ad Dujayl trial, the 
court introduced documentary evidence directly incriminating 
each of the eight defendants.  The court also recommended 
that Sadoon Shakir (former Minister of Interior during the 
1982 attack against Ad Dujayl) be referred to the IHT 
Investigative Chamber because of his alleged participation in 
the attack against Ad Dujayl.  During the March 1 
proceedings, defendants Barzan Ibrihim al-Tikriti and Saddam 
Hussein made inculpatory statements in open court, conceding 
that they ordered certain atrocities.  The court is adjourned 
until March 12, when it is expected that each defendant will 
provide individual testimony.  The court also will identify 
handwriting experts during this adjournment in order to 
verify that the documents already introduced are authentic. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
--------------- 
DAY 13 OF TRIAL 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Day 13 of trial began without incident.  Each 
defendant was brought into court without struggle and the 
principal Iraqi attorneys of record ended their boycott and 
represented their clients.  The principal attorneys for 
Saddam Hussein, Kaleel al-Dolami and Khamees al-Ubaydi, 
requested that the court adjourn because: (1) Saddam Hussein, 
as a result of his hunger strike, appears too frail to 
continue; (2) non-Iraqi defense counsel need additional time 
to coordinate their entry into Iraq and admission to the 
court; (3) the security situation in Iraq is unstable; and 
(4) the attorneys require additional time to prepare their 
case.  (NOTE: According to a medical report completed by 
MNF-I physicians, Saddam faced no medical problems stemming 
from his refusal of solid food from February 12-21, 2006.  As 
for the non-Iraqi defense counsel's failure to appear on Days 
13 and 14, the court gave public notice on February 14 that 
proceedings would resume on February 28.  Moreover, on 
February 21, Judge Ra'ouf met with Iraqi defense attorney 
Khamees al-Obeidi and advised him that the non-Iraqi 
attorneys would be permitted to appear in court if they meet 
with the court in chambers immediately prior to the 
commencement of proceedings on February 28.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶3. (U) When Chief Trial Judge Ra'ouf Abdul-Rahman rejected 
the attorneys' request to adjourn, both attorneys left the 
courtroom and were replaced with IHT standby counsel. 
Khamees and Kaleel watched the day's proceedings on a live 
feed that was broadcast into the defense counsel room. 
 
¶4. (U) Defendant Barzan al-Tikriti complained that, upon the 
departures of Kaleel al-Dolami and Khamees al-Ubaydi, he was 
unrepresented.  Although Kaleel and Khamees are Barzan's 
attorneys, they are not his retained principal attorney of 
choice.  That attorney, Majeed Hidab Halhool, remained in the 
courtroom after Kaleel and Khamees left, as did all the other 
retained attorneys. 
 
¶5. (U) The trial commenced with the introduction of 
documentary evidence through the Chief Prosecutor, Ja'afar 
al-Musawi.  This evidence included an execution order for 147 
people who allegedly were members of the Al-Dawa party and 
involved in the failed assassination attempt against Saddam 
Hussein.  According to al-Musawi, Judge Awad al-Bandar signed 
this order and Saddam Hussein signed another document 
approving the execution of these individuals.  Other 
documents demonstrated that the regime detained nine children 
(aged 11-17 years old) to punish those allegedly involved in 
the assassination attempt.  Other evidence included decrees 
confiscating land in Ad Dujayl and orders of detention for 
687 people from Ad Dujayl (including of women and children). 
 
--------------- 
DAY 14 OF TRIAL 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Day 14 was notable in that Khamees, one of Saddam 
Hussein's principal attorneys of record, attended, as did all 
other privately-retained defense attorneys.  The trial 
commenced with Chief Prosecutor al-Musawi introducing 
additional documentary and other evidence.  Of particular 
importance were an aerial photograph of the city of Ad Dujayl 
taken before the former regime commenced its attack and an 
aerial photograph taken shortly after the attack.  The 
photographs showed that large portions of the city had been 
destroyed. 
 
¶7. (U) Equally compelling was an audiotape in which a former 
regime member spoke to Saddam in 1991 and suggested that 
Saddam quell the uprisings in Basrah by attacking it as he 
 
BAGHDAD 00000729  002 OF 002 
 
 
did Ad Dujayl.  Documentary evidence introduced during Day 14 
included a memorandum from the Department of Legal Affairs in 
which it was acknowledged that 52 people were tortured to 
death during the investigation. 
 
¶8. (U) At the conclusion of the documentary phase of the 
case, the Chief Prosecutor demanded that the IHT refer Sadoon 
Shakir to the Investigative Chamber as a result of his 
alleged participation in the attack against Ad Dujayl.  The 
defense attorneys objected to this request and stated that 
they will call Sadoon Shakir as a witness.  The court 
reserved judgment on the request.  The court then read into 
the record five witness statements from individuals who were 
unable or unwilling to testify in court. 
 
¶9. (U)  Shortly before court adjourned, both Barzan Ibrihim 
al-Tikriti and Saddam Hussein addressed the Trial Chamber. 
Barzan stated that he personally had ordered defendant Taha 
Ramadan to direct the tractors used to destroy the orchards 
around Ad Dujayl, and Saddam stated that he personally 
ordered that the orchards in Ad Dujayl be razed.  Saddam also 
stated that he had ordered that the 147 individuals be 
referred to trial in front of defendant Awad Bandar, who 
previously had acknowledged sentencing some of the persons 
listed in the execution order.  Saddam reasoned those actions 
by asserting that the razing of the orchards was not a crime 
because they belonged to those who were found guilty of 
trying to assassinate him.  (COMMENT: The implications of 
these admissions are important because they establish 
acknowledgment by four of the defendants of individual 
command responsibility over some of the atrocities that form 
the basis of the charges.  END COMMENT.) 
 
----------------------------------- 
NEXT SESSION: DEFENDANTS' TESTIMONY 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) The court recessed until March 12 in order to give 
the defense attorneys and experts time to review the 
documents in question.  It is expected that, when trial 
resumes, the trial chamber will call into the courtroom each 
defendant, one by one, to hear his testimony.  If the 
defendants challenge the authenticity of the documentary 
evidence already produced, the court will summon three to 
five handwriting experts and review their qualifications.  If 
the experts are deemed qualified, the court will request that 
they review the documentary evidence (over a two-week period) 
and testify whether they believe the documents to be 
authentic.  When these reports are complete, the court will 
reconvene and listen to the opinions contained therein. 
 
¶11. (SBU) COMMENT: The court demonstrated control over the 
process and the defendants on these two days of trial.  None 
of the defendants shouted at the bench, and the defendants 
and their attorneys refrained from any actions requiring 
intervention by Judge Ra'ouf.  Indeed, the court's ability to 
move forward so soon after the violence following the Samarra 
bombing is a welcome sign.  END COMMENT. 
KHALILZAD