Saddam’s defense team to send 1 lawyer to Iraq

AMMAN, Jordan - Despite safety concerns, a team of lawyers that claims to represent Saddam Hussein is dispatching an envoy to Iraq to try to meet with the deposed Iraqi dictator, group members said Saturday.

"I am leaving to Iraq on Sunday, despite the risk, which I am ready to bear," Ziad Najdawi, one of 20 Jordanian and foreign lawyers appointed by Saddam’s wife, Sajida, said.

Mohammed Rashdan, who heads the defense team, told The Associated Press that they decided to dispatch Najdawi to present Iraqi authorities with the power of attorney signed by Sajida and try to meet Saddam.

"We are trying to move for the defense of Mr. President Saddam Hussein, despite our concern for the safety of our colleague," Rashdan said. "The trial began and the president has been denied his legal right to a lawyer, which is in violation of international law and the due process."

The defense lawyers have claimed that Iraqi authorities have threatened them if they traveled to Iraq.

On Thursday, Issam Ghazawi, one of the lawyers on the team, said he had received a telephone call from Iraqi Justice Minister Malek Dohan al-Hassan, who allegedly threatened that if the lawyers made it to Baghdad, they "will not only be killed, but cut into pieces."

Another lawyer, Ziad al-Khasawneh, said al-Hassan has told him to go visit mass graves that Saddam is responsible for "instead of defending him."

There was no immediate comment from al-Hassan or the Iraqi Embassy in Jordan.

Rashdan said Saturday he had received a bomb threat on the telephone from an anonymous caller. "His accent was Iraqi and he threatened to blow up the building where my office is and kill my family," Rashdan said. He said he reported the threat to police. (AP)