本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Posted 7/1/2004 10:51 PM Updated 7/2/2004 8:57 AM
Former dictator won't make it easy to try him
By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — The sound of clinking chains announced Saddam Hussein's arrival at the small makeshift courthouse on Thursday. But by the time he walked into the courtroom he was let loose in ways that went beyond removing his handcuffs.
For 26 minutes, the 67-year-old former dictator was alternately nervous, feisty, angry, tired and impatient. He was never repentant.
He had bags under his eyes. He's thinner. The teeth that once flashed white on propaganda posters are yellow, especially when set against the crisp white shirt he wore. After months in blue prison overalls, Saddam and the other defendants a few days ago were given new shirts and cheap suits by the coalition for their court appearances.
He looked thinner and less imposing than the dictator who ruled Iraq for 25 years. He sported a trimmed beard, largely gray, that doesn't hide the folds of the skin of his neck or the dance of his still-black eyebrows. At times he appeared somewhat tentative.
Saddam's hands almost never stopped moving. When he wasn't jabbing his finger forcefully at the judge or making other gestures, he was stroking his facial hair. At one point he scribbled notes.
"I don't want to complicate things," he'd say, before complicating things.
Asked if he could afford a lawyer, Saddam retorted: "The Americans say I have millions hidden in Switzerland. How can I not have the money to pay for one?"
The judge had to interrupt Saddam repeatedly to keep the session focused on its limited purpose: reading the charges and rights to the former dictator and, separately, 11 of his henchmen.
Saddam returned the favor by lecturing the judge.
"The judicial system in Iraq represents the people of Iraq," he said, admonishing the judge not to follow the laws of the "invading forces."
The judge reassured him that he was an Iraqi judge, representing the people.
But a peek through the yellow-curtained windows of the tiny courtroom showed the limited power of the new Iraqi government.
The court used Thursday is on a lake in the middle of a major U.S. base, Camp Victory, built on the grounds of one of Saddam's palaces. Thousands of troops with their tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and attack helicopters are close by.
The courthouse was redecorated to look Iraqi. A colorful rug covered the floor and a Koran scripture hung above the door.
Just days earlier, the same courtroom was used for a pretrial hearing of a defendant in the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal.
In the jury room is a bookshelf with cheap novels and a classic: Dostoevski's Crime and Punishment.
Saddam was escorted out of the courtroom after refusing to sign a document acknowledging that the judge had advised him of his rights.
Presumably, Saddam will have a legal team in place soon, so the judge can schedule a new hearing for that purpose.
When Saddam got up to leave, one of the Iraqi guards went to help him. To the guard, Saddam said, "Take it easy — I'm an old man."更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
Former dictator won't make it easy to try him
By Steven Komarow, USA TODAY
BAGHDAD — The sound of clinking chains announced Saddam Hussein's arrival at the small makeshift courthouse on Thursday. But by the time he walked into the courtroom he was let loose in ways that went beyond removing his handcuffs.
For 26 minutes, the 67-year-old former dictator was alternately nervous, feisty, angry, tired and impatient. He was never repentant.
He had bags under his eyes. He's thinner. The teeth that once flashed white on propaganda posters are yellow, especially when set against the crisp white shirt he wore. After months in blue prison overalls, Saddam and the other defendants a few days ago were given new shirts and cheap suits by the coalition for their court appearances.
He looked thinner and less imposing than the dictator who ruled Iraq for 25 years. He sported a trimmed beard, largely gray, that doesn't hide the folds of the skin of his neck or the dance of his still-black eyebrows. At times he appeared somewhat tentative.
Saddam's hands almost never stopped moving. When he wasn't jabbing his finger forcefully at the judge or making other gestures, he was stroking his facial hair. At one point he scribbled notes.
"I don't want to complicate things," he'd say, before complicating things.
Asked if he could afford a lawyer, Saddam retorted: "The Americans say I have millions hidden in Switzerland. How can I not have the money to pay for one?"
The judge had to interrupt Saddam repeatedly to keep the session focused on its limited purpose: reading the charges and rights to the former dictator and, separately, 11 of his henchmen.
Saddam returned the favor by lecturing the judge.
"The judicial system in Iraq represents the people of Iraq," he said, admonishing the judge not to follow the laws of the "invading forces."
The judge reassured him that he was an Iraqi judge, representing the people.
But a peek through the yellow-curtained windows of the tiny courtroom showed the limited power of the new Iraqi government.
The court used Thursday is on a lake in the middle of a major U.S. base, Camp Victory, built on the grounds of one of Saddam's palaces. Thousands of troops with their tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and attack helicopters are close by.
The courthouse was redecorated to look Iraqi. A colorful rug covered the floor and a Koran scripture hung above the door.
Just days earlier, the same courtroom was used for a pretrial hearing of a defendant in the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal.
In the jury room is a bookshelf with cheap novels and a classic: Dostoevski's Crime and Punishment.
Saddam was escorted out of the courtroom after refusing to sign a document acknowledging that the judge had advised him of his rights.
Presumably, Saddam will have a legal team in place soon, so the judge can schedule a new hearing for that purpose.
When Saddam got up to leave, one of the Iraqi guards went to help him. To the guard, Saddam said, "Take it easy — I'm an old man."更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net