Witnesses Defend Farms’ Destruction

Witnesses for two Saddam Hussein co-defendants accused of taking part in a 1982 massacre of 148 people from Dujayl described the men as fair and merciful, and dismissed destruction of the village’s fields and orchards as an economic redevelopment project.

Defense witnesses denied that the defendants, former spy chief Barzan Ibrahim Hasan and Awad Hamed Bandar, former head of Hussein’s Revolutionary Court, took part in the massacre -- even as they acknowledged that they had little direct information about the Dujayl incident.

Prosecutors say the two defendants led a retaliatory purge against the predominantly Shiite Muslim residents of Dujayl after an assassination attempt on Hussein during a visit there.

The proceedings were briefly interrupted when a defense attorney pointed to the gallery overlooking the heavily guarded courtroom and accused an observer of taunting and threatening him.

“People here are harassing us. The visitors are talking and signaling to us,” the defense lawyer said, identifying one of the men as a prominent member of the leading Islamic Dawa Party, a Shiite group.

Hussein’s attorneys have accused Dawa of plotting the 1982 assassination attempt against the deposed Iraqi president, whose cadre of Sunni Arab elites ruled Iraq until the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

“You, me, he threatens all of us. Our lives are in danger and these people are threatening us,” the defense attorney said. Judge Raouf Rasheed Abdel Rahman ejected the man in the balcony.

U.S. advisors to the tribunal asked journalists not to identify the lawyer or the ejected man for fear of reprisals against them.

Two defense lawyers were assassinated last year, and court officials have instituted tight security measures. Court observers are searched and must pass through several X-ray machines to reach the imposing Iraqi High Tribunal building, a former headquarters for Hussein’s Baath Party.

Witnesses often are hidden behind curtains and offered anonymity, but several defense lawyers have opted not to remain out of view of courtroom television cameras. Tribunal attorneys and officials are sequestered in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone.

Defense witnesses Monday included two personal bodyguards for Hasan, two former interior ministers, a lawyer and two police officers. Four of the witnesses are now detainees.

Several of the witnesses offered praise of and salutations to the defendants -- particularly Hussein.

“Regards to your family, President Saddam,” said one former member of Hasan’s personal security team.

“I bring greetings from one of your tribe -- your uncle,” said former police officer Galib Mutar Latif. “I would die for you! I would die for you, president!”

Hussein, who remained silent during most of the hearing, smiled and called out: “Greet the Al Obeidi tribe for us!”

Defense witnesses also testified that the destruction of Dujayl’s orchards and palm groves, the rural village’s economic lifeline, was not retaliation, but was part of a long-planned economic redevelopment package that included compensation for farmers whose lands were bulldozed.

But prosecutor Jaafar Mousawi argued that there was no development plan and that the payments were intended to placate Dujayl victims. He also questioned the veracity of Hasan’s witnesses. Mousawi quizzed one of Hasan’s alleged bodyguards about other employees at the intelligence agency, known as the Mukhabarat.

“Do you know the names of any employees in the Mukhabarat?” Mousawi asked.

Hasan, hoping to shore up his witness’ testimony, tried to prompt him by giving him clues, to no avail.

“The old man, I just remembered his name,” the witness said. “But now I have forgotten him.”