Matt Jones' Random Acts of Verbiage

The verdict of guilty, like the trial, itself is farce and an abuse of justice. It sends a clear message to the Iraqi people: if they want to defend themselves they cannot look to law, they cannot look to the US government, they cannot look to the occupation government the US setup in Iraq�they must defend themselves using all necessary means by which national liberation movements are permitted to defend themselves.

The trial has been declared unfair by every independent expert who has reviewed it. It constitutes the worse form of �victors� injustice.�

While the verdict was written by the occupying powers thousands of Iraqis have died because these same people can�t provide basic security in the country they illegally invaded.

The arrogant abuse of the law is part and parcel of the illegal invasion of Iraq and the US supported oppression of the Palestinian people for decades, and the US supported invasion of Lebanon. All of these were attacks on Arabs, on Muslims, on the people the US administration believes are their enemies. All of these are unmitigated violations of international law killing thousands of unarmed innocent Arab Muslims.

The trial of Saddam Hussein violated human rights to so serious an extent that no trial in modern history tat has been so prominent compares to it.

First, the trial was the direct result of multiple violations of international law, especially the illegal crime of aggression perpetrated against the Iraqi people.

Second, the trial was undertaken by a court set up and controlled by the United States, an occupying power. This violates the express provisions of international humanitarian law in the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Third, the trial was plagued by insecurity that saw defense lawyers, judges, and witnesses killed or intimidated. When the defense lawyers complained they were told there was nothing more that could be done. They were told not to complain about the murder of four defense lawyers by person allegedly connected to the Iraqi government.

The defense was given no time and no facilities to prepare a defense, even the President� money was stolen from him when he was captured by the Americans. All exculpating evidence was withheld from the defense; defense witnesses were threatened by court officials; defense lawyers were assaulted by US officials; and the defendants we not given the charges against them until eight months after the prosecution had started presenting evidence and the day the defense was required to start its case. The list of violations is long and undoubtedly the reason why every independent expert has found the trial unfair.

Most notably, on 1 September 2006, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the body tasked by the international community to determine when and if a fair trial has been held or a detention is arbitrary, decided that the trial was unfair and that a fair trial could not take place before the Iraqi Special Tribunal.

In short this trial is one of the worst abuses of justice in history. It is victors� injustice and it is an injustice to everyone involved from the participants to the victims. It is dark day for the international community, a day in which the rule of law has been eclipsed by victors� injustice.

You tell him, Matt..

In my opinion, this will be great for the Iraqi people, and us too.

Yeah, I agree. People like Saddam Hussein give up their ‘human rights’ when they steal the human rights of thousands and millions of others. He was given more than he ‘deserved’ just by being given a trial. How is it not justice to convict a proven murderer and sentence him to death?
I will admit though, I didn’t pay much attention to the trial. But having a little brother (actually cousin) serving in the US Army in Iraq, I am relieved to hear the news.
Thanks, Matt, for your many informative posts. I don’t comment much, but I do stop by here pretty often.

In short this trial is one of the worst abuses of justice in history

That makes it hard to take your argument seriously, Tolstoy. The Steelers beating the Seahawks was a greater miscarriage of justice than Saddam getting the death penalty.

Thanks, I’m having fun with it. So much better than blogger.
And, you’ve got to admit, the World Series this year was an even bigger miscarriage of justice. haha..

It is interesting to compare the different fates of Saddam Hussein and PW Botha — the difference between Muslim and Christian outlooks, perhaps

Although I do believe that he should be put to death because he is really a horrible person, but he was the ruler of his country and therefore who are we to tell him how to run his country? I also do agree that his trial is unfair because of course we are going to be bias, because after all you all think he is guilty based on facts that have been put on the news. I think there should be a world trial not a trial by U.S. citizens. Although I would like to see him die because he truely in my eyes was a horrible human being, I am not God and God has his master plan and if it is in his plan to kill him so be it and if it is not then God will take care of it in due time…