Another Kurdish judge for Saddam's trial

[Piling]

BAGHDAD, Jan 23, 2006 (AFP) - 12h38 - Less than 24 hours before the resumption of the trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity, the court on Monday appointed a new interim chief judge.

Rauf Rashid Abdel Rahman, a member of the five-strong panel trying Saddam, will take over from Rizkar Mohammed Amin who resigned earlier this month, the court's investigating judge Raed al-Juhi told AFP.

Rahman was born in Halabja, the Kurdish town which became a symbol of repression in 1988 when Saddam's forces used chemical weapons against its inhabitants, killing several thousand people.

"He will remain as presiding judge until such a time as an official decision is taken on whether to accept judge Rizkar's resignation," Juhi added.

The Iraqi government has yet to accept Amin's resignation. If accepted the five-member court panel will vote on a permanent new chief judge.

Amin, also a Kurd, who stepped down following strong criticism of his running of the court, said he would not go back on his decision despite efforts by colleagues to change his mind.

"I have no intention of going back on my decision," a close associate quoted him as saying Monday.

He said the judge planned to watch the trial on television from his home in the northern city of Suleimaniyah when it resumes Tuesday.

For the last seven sessions Amin has been the most public judicial face of the trial of Saddam and seven co-defendants over the massacre of Shiites from the town of Dujail after the former Iraqi leader survived an assassination attempt there in 1982.

Amin was criticized for being too lenient with the defendants and their repeated nationalist tirades condemning the court.

"The official position of the court has always been, since the time the (resignation) letter was submitted, he is considered to be on leave," said a Western official close to the court who had suggested he might yet return.

It was initially believed that the next most senior member of the panel, Said al-Hammashi, would take over as presiding judge.

But Hammashi, a Shiite, has himself been criticized by the commission set up to root out members of Saddam's former ruling Baath party from official positions.

The committee last week claimed Hammashi was former active member of the Baath party and should not preside over the trial.

It was not the first time the committee had targeted the court.

"There was an effort made in July by the de-Baathification committee to remove members of the court, judges and prosecutors, who they were alleging were former members of the Baath party," said the Western official.

"They ultimately backed off and there was an understanding that the de-Baathification committee did not have jurisdiction to issue orders against judges and prosecutors on the court."

Saddam is currently only on trial for the Dujail massacre.

But should he later face prosecution for the massacre of Kurds in the 1980s, a new judge would have to be appointed because of Abdel Rahman's connection with Halabja.

On Tuesday, Saddam's trial was set to resume with more complainant witnesses whose identities were likely to be disguised for fear of reprisals.

The harrowing testimony so far has detailed torture and abuse of detainees after hundreds of villagers were rounded following a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam.

The next series of witnesses will be those who can shed light on the events and could well include former members of the regime, a Western official said.

Repeated outbursts by defendants, who have denounced the court and claimed mistreatment at the hands of their jailers, have resulted in delays and have shifted the focus away from witness testimony, according to critics.

But in many cases the defendants' statements have bolstered the case against them, the Western official suggested.

"Some of the defense were making incriminating statements," he said. "It does cut both ways."

Officials anticipate that the entire trial could stretch at least until late May or June, if there are no major delays.