Lawyer in Saddam trial shot dead

C B C . C A N e w s - F u l l S t o r y :
Lawyer in Saddam trial shot dead
Last Updated Tue, 08 Nov 2005 10:53:38 EST
CBC News

Gunmen shot and killed a lawyer for one of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants on Tuesday, the second defence lawyer in the trial killed in less than a month.

The car carrying Adel al-Zubeidi crashed in Baghdad's Adil neighborhood, Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Adel al-Zubeidi was killed by shooters in a speeding car in the Adil neighborhood of Baghdad. He had been representing former Iraqi vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan, one of Saddam's seven co-defendants in the high-profile crimes against humanity trial.

The trial has been adjourned until late November.

Another defence lawyer, Thamir al-Khuzaie, was injured in the attack.

Saddam's lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, blamed "an armed group using government vehicles," alleging the Iraqi government is trying to intimidate foreign or Arab lawyers.

In late October, Iraqi police found the body of Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, a lawyer who represented another of Saddam's co-accused.

His body was found near a mosque in Baghdad with two gunshot wounds to the head.

He had been representing Awad Hamed al-Bandar, one of seven Baathist party officials being tried along with Saddam for murder, torture, forced expulsion and illegal imprisonment in the 1982 massacre of Shias in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.

Prosecutors and the five judges have been provided with heavy security, but the court hasn't assigned security to defence lawyers.

Copyright ©2005 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/11/08/saddam_lawyer051108.html