Tariq Aziz to Testify Against Saddam in a Plea Bargain

[Rumtaya]

Tariq Aziz, once Saddam Hussein's most trusted lieutenant, has agreed to testify against the ousted dictator during his forthcoming trial for war crimes, according to his lawyer and American officials.

In return for his co-operation, Aziz, 69, Iraq's foreign minister during the Gulf war and deputy prime minister throughout Saddam's 24-year rule, will have the most serious charges against him dropped and be allowed to spend his dotage in exile.

The outline plea agreement, under which he will plead guilty to minor charges, was reached after more than two years of delicate negotiations during which Aziz also revealed important intelligence information. It could mean him walking free almost as soon as the trials of Saddam and his cohorts are over.

The man regarded as the Ba'athist regime's chief mouthpiece to the outside world will not, however, be called to give evidence against his former master this week. The deposed Iraqi leader is due in court in Baghdad on Wednesday accused of murdering 143 Shias in the town of Dujail, north of the capital, after a failed assassination attempt in 1982.

Saddam, 68, who is in American custody in Baghdad, has been linked to hundreds of thousands of killings but the Dujail case is being heard first because prosecutors believe it will be simple to link him directly to acts of murder.

He will eventually be tried on further charges of crimes against humanity, for which he will be sentenced to death if found guilty. It is in these more complex cases - involving the sanctioning of mass executions - that Aziz's evidence could prove crucial.

Badie Izzat Arief, Aziz's lawyer, said in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph that his client had "given them facts, well known facts" during more than 300 interviews with United States officials, including, he suggested, members of the CIA and FBI.

During the interviews, Aziz was questioned repeatedly about whether Saddam had signed execution orders. "They asked him whether the executions were decided by Saddam Hussein or the court," said Mr Arief. "He said that Saddam had the right to ratify or not. It depended on him." His client, he confirmed, would be prepared to state "facts" in his own trial and those of other senior regime figures.

He said that Aziz, who was "tired" and suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes, was kept in a 12ft by 12ft cell and now wore a tracksuit. He had expressed a desire to move to Europe and to write an autobiography. Mr Arief expected the former Iraqi foreign minister to be sentenced to "time served" - about three years - and freed.

"He told me, 'If I am released, please take me straight to the airport' and, 'When I'm free I will write a book about the whole matter'. For humanitarian reasons he should be granted a visa in Europe because he has been attacked many times by the Iraqis now ruling this country."

Aziz, a Chaldean Catholic, changed his name from Michael Yuhanna to Tariq Aziz, which means "Venerable Path" in Arabic, at the outset of his political career. He has been viewed with suspicion by Sunni rejectionists since he surrendered to US forces following the invasion and formally identified Saddam after his capture in December 2003.

"Saddam should never have put a Christian in his government," said Saddoun Hail al-Aani, a former Iraqi army colonel who remains loyal to the former dictator. "He made a dirty deal with the Americans because he is a crusader like them. He is a spy, a traitor and a servant of the occupiers."

Aziz has long been courted by American lawyers and their Iraqi counterparts. Evidence from such a senior figure would add powerful legitimacy to any conviction.

A US official cautioned, however, that Aziz might change his mind. "Things are very delicate and a plea bargain is never sealed until the witness takes the stand and delivers his side of the deal." Aziz's son Zayad, in exile in Jordan, said his father would not give evidence. "He will not be a witness against anyone. He had no connection with the crimes alleged to have been committed by the military people."

Unprecedented security will be in place for the trial, which could last months. At least one new purpose-built courtroom has been set up in Baghdad, its precise location, for the time being, a closely guarded secret.

Saddam will be defended by a team led by Khalil Dulaimi, an Iraqi, but several international lawyers are expected to assist in an opening argument over whether the court has jurisdiction over the case.

Anthony Scrivener QC, who has condemned the proceedings as "a promising theatrical farce", and Desmond Doherty, who once worked on the Bloody Sunday case, have been invited to take part.

One defence argument is likely to be that the executions Saddam ordered in Dujail were no different in law from the 152 that George W Bush approved while he was Texas governor.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

[tomjez]

He would be a great President for Assyria!

[Vladimir]

Neh.. he is Chaldean Catholic.. not Assyrian..

[tomjez]

THERE IS NOT CHALDEANS THEY ARE ASTOLOGICS AND WE WILL KICK THEIR ASS

Rumtaya, leave this body!

[Rumtaya]

He would be a great President for Assyria!

He wont be alive if Assyria is formed so no not a good idea.

Neh.. he is Chaldean Catholic.. not Assyrian..

hmm yea right

he is Assyrian in nation and Catholic in religious domination

THERE IS NOT CHALDEANS THEY ARE ASTOLOGICS AND WE WILL KICK THEIR ASS

Rumtaya, leave this body!

no we wont kick their asses cause its so easy how it is they are Assyrians aceept it accept it accept it.

ask the roman catholic church they will tell you what they are.

something else to tariq aziz

i have to say if he wasnt in the iraq goverment who knows what would happen with assyrians so i can say he helped the assyrians in a way.

but dont forget saddam aslo destroied 200 Assyrian Villages and Churches.

Assyrians havent been accept as Assyrians mostly count as kurds or arabs.

[ChiChalok]

"n return for his co-operation, Aziz, 69, Iraq's foreign minister during the Gulf war and deputy prime minister throughout Saddam's 24-year rule, will have the most serious charges against him dropped and be allowed to spend his dotage in exile. "

pffff .. that stinkin pig deserves to be hanged !!