Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal - Controversy

Controversy

Many international human-rights law groups have opposed the Tribunal; they had wished to see international (non-Iraqi) lawyers empaneled on the Tribunal, and they also object to the availability of the death penalty under Iraqi law.

Other legal groups and the UN have protested that Saddam Hussein should have been arraigned before a UN court, similar to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. Many have said that Saddam should have appeared before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. Some have criticized the United States for playing too great a role in the foundation, financing, and operation of the Tribunal.

The normal principle of international law, however, has been to rely first on the domestic national court capability of a country before turning to the extraordinary creation of international tribunals. Some Iraqis as well view the Tribunal as a matter of pride and sovereignty with the view that they can govern and judge themselves. International legal experts argued for Saddam to be tried outside the country as it was believed that he would not receive a fair trial under inexperienced judges who had been long standing enemies of him and his regime. Following the re-introduction of capital punishment in August 2004, the Iraqi interim PM Iyad Allawi gave assurances that he would not interfere with the trial and would accept any court decisions, although some of his comments are open to mis-interpretation: "As for the execution, that is for the court to decide — so long as a decision is reached impartially and fairly."

According to British journalist Robert Fisk, the judge, Ra’id Juhi, had indicted Moqtada al-Sadr of murder in April 2004, an important event in the growing Iraqi insurgency. After working as a translator, Juhi was appointed by Paul Bremer. Juhi, 33, is a Shia Muslim and had served for a decade as a judge under Saddam Hussein.

Although officials had asked for the judge's name to be kept secret, allegedly to protect him from retribution, it was widely reported in the Arabic press, including newspapers in Baghdad. The only Western newspaper to refuse this kind of self-censorship was the British The Independent and was criticised by Tony Blair's government as a result. Ra'id Juhi had also given interviews and posed for pictures in the context of the Moqtada al-Sadr indictment. Juhi was appointed Tribunal spokesperson in late 2005, even though he continues his duties as Chief Investigative Judge.