Baghdad streets
Iraq court TV
Welcome back to Baghdad.
(SHOTS OF BAGHDAD)
Next week (or on the 5th November) we expect the Iraqi High Criminal Court to deliver a verdict on the very first trial against Saddam(?). Its almost exactly one year after our former dictator was put in the defendants cage for the first time last October, in 2005.
Hello and welcome back to Baghdad.A couple of weeks ago the chief prosecutor trying Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity said he hoped a verdict would be announced in the next few daysSo come with me for
Salam hands and face
ASTON 10:00:37 SALAM PAX
SALAM OOV No one can imagine anything other than a guilty verdict with the IN VISIONdeath penalty. But with more than 50 reported deaths a day and the total loss of safety and basic services how high is the priority of this trial in our lives as Iraqis? And is the verdict we are waiting for going to be as meaningful to us as we had hoped it would be when the trial first started?
Iraq court TV
SALAM OOVIts almost exactly one year after our former dictator was put in the defendants cage for the first time last October, in 2005.And as expected with all trials of this magnitude it got messy, complicated and confusing.
ARABIC SUBTITLES
COURT SOT
Saddam: By God! You should ask my comrades and justice will prevail. By God!Judge: Im going to ask you to calm down, this type of behaviour wont do.
IN VISION
SALAMBut no need to worry, today I give you
THE SALAM PAX GUIDE TO THE IRAQI HIGH CRIMINAL COURT
Streets of Baghdad
COMMENTARY
With all the death and destruction most people have lost interest in what could have been the trial of the century.But in order to try and understand the court I felt I needed to go and see it for myself. It was only my BBC credentials that got me past the strict US security screening. Something here about Here in Baghdad people dont really care so much about saddam and what could have been the trial of the century at elast for us anyway. The reason? life here is hard, the violence et cetc but also because Saddam no longer seems very relevant to our lives but also because
SALAM PTC
My cousins have been joking that I have been trying to get a date with Saddam. Well, today is the day.
Getting into car for court
PTC in car Im on my way to the court now. Im on my way to the court now and I dont know what to expect. It is going to be the first time I am actually with Saddam in the same room. I feel a strange mixture of curiosity and unease. But well see how it goes.
PTC in car We are getting very close to the point where I need to put my camera away as the camera is something else I am not allowed to take in with me. Basically the only thing I am allowed to bring in with me is a note book and I pen.The list of things I am not allowed to tell you about the court for security reasons is very long and instead of getting myself into trouble for telling you things I shouldnt let me give you some background information about the court instead.
SALAM PTC
The court was established as early as December 2003 - the same month Saddam was captured - but we had to wait two years for procedures to start.OOVIn those two years judges and prosecutors examined over two million documents, collected testimony from around 7,000 witnesses, and read reports by forensic experts from roughly 200 mass graves throughout Iraq. To keep identities of court clerks and officials secret we get this screen. And as an extra measure the judge has a kill switch to turn off all microphones in the courtroom, to be use when the defendants decide to turn the proceedings into a political rally. Which happens often enough.
Iraqi Special Tribunal (Iraqi Governing Council)- Iraqi High Criminal Court (new name after the Iraqi Gov amended the statute of the court, an attempt to distance itself from the fact that it was established by an occupying force through the IGC as a proxy) - Iraqi High Tribunal (on web, various experts)- Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal - all these are used to describe the court which is concerned with the crimes of the Saddam regime. The official name used by the Iraqi Government is IHCC.One of the especially absurd moments in the tribunals short history would have to be the fact that the courts statute, although in a country where the official language is Arabic, was written in English and later translated to Arabic,the translation was shoddy apparently and there was a provision in the IST statute that the English text would control!!! No wonder there was more than a murmur regarding issues of legitimacy.In an attempt to resolve this issue and give the tribunal more legality and legitimacy some amendments to the ISTs statute were made accompanied by general editing process and a change of name, the IST became the IHCC. These amendments and a law regarding the IHCC made by the Iraqi National Assembly were all attempts by Iraqi legislators to shake away the image that this is still Bremers court.
SUBTITLES Wide, the defendants in the cage, Saddams chair is empty COURT TV(Judge: The Higher Criminal Iraqi Court )SADDAM: Im asking you, I want a reply to speak with you.JUDGE: I have decided to have you removed from this session. Take him out. Take him out. Take him out!
COMMENTARYThis is not the first time Saddam has been thrown out of court. So, what are the charges against Saddam? Let me give you an idea.
The Dujail Case Saddams role in the 1982 execution of around 148 Iraqi civilians in Dujail, a predominantly Shiite town north of Baghdad)Anfal Over 100,000 Kurds were killed during a campaign that lasted from 1986 to 1989the Halabja Chemical Attacks over 5,000 killed in one villageInvading Kuwait, war crimes committed in Kuwait.Mass executions of Marsh Arabs about 50,000 Killing and deporting of Kurdish Barzani tribe, more than 10,000 members of that tribe were affected.
PTC in car
Just out of the court and my head is buzzing, just give me a second to collect my thoughts. But you know what the funniest thing was . in front of the press gallery there are actually curtains and they sort of close them when you are not supposed to see what is happening and then they open them again when it all starts. It is just a circus.
(01:39:51) There is a lot I cannot tell you about. I cannot tell you how we got there, where the building is, what the building is like, how many clerks and court officials were there, I cannot tell you about the movement of the defendants, actually we werent even let into the press gallery until they were all seated. And when they had a recess for lunch, they let us out first. There are actually curtains and they sort of close them when you are not supposed to see what is happening and then they open them again when it all starts. It is just a circus.
PTC SALAM
While in the press gallery in court we are in the back and we only get to see the back of their heads. And I kept trying to get glimpses of Saddam. It is just really bizarre for some reason he was totally dressed up for the occasion today. He had a black suit on, his hair was freshly dyed black and he had a breast pocket hanky on. You want to see something in his eyes or the others eyes or something in their voice that says they acknowledge what they have done. That they realize that they have done so many bad things. But that did not really happen.
Actually(01:37:15) and obviously after all these months of listening to all these people, the witnesses telling their stories nothing really has clicked and they still are the people who they are. Even though some of the, physically arent as frightening as they used to be. I dont know maybe we sort of projected that on them. I mean for example take Chemical Ali (Hasan al-Majeed) he was frail, he was thinner and he was stooping when he stood and and using a walking cane. And suddenly he isnt that terrorizing figure who used to kill and torture people under his leaders command. I dont maybe we have projected these big things on these humans while they are just as mortal as all of us but you have this idea that you are going to see some thing really frightening and you go and you see there and it is not.
(01:38:41) I mean Saddam still commands a room when he talk. It was just amazing. He stands up an starts talking and everybody just stops talking. That was he still has that, which I find very frightening. Really very frightening that he can still do that. Even though, I was writing down what he was saying and you realize that it is either full of historical lies or just rambling going no where but when he talks everybody stops talking and listens. And I think this is how you get this very charismatic dictatorial figures, they seem not to need talk sense all the time.
COURT TVSADDAM:
Your Honour, are you going to allow what is happening?
Judge:
Never mind, a man should be gracious from their heart.
Saddam:
Yes I am gracious from my heart, is there anyone more gracious than Saddam Hussein in the whole world?Judge: Lets hope so.
COMMENTARY
Another thing, I left the court with a deep respect for the plaintiffs and their courage. While the media might focus on Saddams antics we forget that this is about bringing justice to people who have suffered a lot and now they have to go through all that trauma again.
ASTON 10:07:46
SALEH QADER MOHAMMED
Plaintiff, Anfal Case
Plaintiff Saleh Qader Mohammed (VOICED)My problem is with Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan Majid and those are the people in the cage. Nothing will compensate me for the loss of my mother and father when I was only ten years old. What can compensate me for the loss of my parents, my mother and father.
COMMENTARY
This man has waited 23 years to be able to face Saddam and say these words. If there is anything that justifies this court it has to moments like these.
PTC in car
Three years ago, soon after the dust of the war settled I went to visit a group of people who were gathering thousands of documents from prisons and Secret Police offices all over Iraq.
Pics at door notices on walls etc
COMMENTARY
Even though I didnt see the crowds of people who used to come here to ask about lost family members the notices on the walls are still here. As was, Ibrahim al-Idrisi, the founder of this organisation. I asked him what he thought of the court.
ASTON 10:08:50
IBRAHIM AL-IDRISI
Founder, Association of Free Prisoners
IBRAHIM AL-IDRISI (VOICED)Its not just me, everyone is saying this has become a spectacle.IN VISIONAn insult and torture to all the people concerned because they are glorifying Saddam and they are glorifying him in court. The truth is some of them consider him to be a symbol. The issue is that Saddam is becoming a national hero.
COMMENTARYToday the Association has only this computer left working. Even though the Courts investigators have used the data collected here. There is no money for the work to continue anymore.
VOICED
AL-IDRISI Up until now we have received documents for 130,885 political deaths. And 105,187 political prisoners, that have been released. The sum total of this work, is only about 10% of what is still waiting to be archived.
COMMENTARY
$75 Million dollars were provided by the US government for establishing the court and it seems as though no effort was made to include us Iraqis. Why havent they used resources like the archives collected by the Free Prisoners Association? And the result of shutting us? Fear - we all feel it, at home and on the streets.
VOICED VOX
People are afraid and want to stay away from trouble. Its chaos here. If you talk they might come and kill you. Its happened. No one talks about this, they are afraid.
At least he said something. I developed a very thick skin from all the rejections, most people are too afraid to talk.
VOICED VOX 2
No I cant may God protect you
VOICED VOX 3
Its a farce and it harms the people. I mean every time Saddam is on TV there are more bombings, destruction and innocent people die
Well he was a Shia and he would say that wouldnt he!
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/22/africa/ME_GEN_Iraq_Protest.php Associated PressSeptember 22, 2006 And the other side of the coin? Well, look at what was going on in Saddams home town of Tikret just one month ago
SALAM PTC
This issue of Saddam and his regime, is very divisive and I realized that if I want a truly impartial opinion about the court I will have to look outside of Iraq.So I arranged to talk to Nehal Bhuta. He is part of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch.The first thing I wanted to ask him is how well he thought the tribunal was doing .
ASTON 10:11:37
NEHAL BHUTA Human Rights Watch
NEHAL BHUTA
I think its struggling legally. There hasnt been up to now any international criminal trials in the Iraqi domestic system and these kinds of laws have never been interpreted and applied and certainly trials of this length and complexity are quite new and my own observation of criminal courts in Iraq suggest that trials happen fairly quickly they are over in 20 -30 minutes.
SALAM
Is it fair to say at least in terms of Iraqi trials its a big improvement?
NEHAL
This trial is a big improvement so thats a fair point. The question for us though and for the wider international community is, is a bit better than normal good enough.
COMMENTARY
But for many Iraqis this International pressure to give Saddam a fair trial is seen as extending an unnecessary courtesy to him.
VOX (VOICED)
These organisations dont have a dictator like Saddam. Huh if they had they wouldnt be talking like that. Let them see what a dictator is like, hopefully they wont have anyone like Saddam or a dictator.
COMMENTARY
And the acid test will be this impending verdict of the first trial where Saddam Hussein and seven other defendants have been charged with for the killing of 148 Shias in Dujail in 1982 following an assassination attempt. Nehal Bhuta feels there were some fundamental flaws with this trial.
NEHAL BHUTA
We have some reservations about whether in fact the prosecution made the case or not, now ultimately thats a matter for the judges, its already been made clear to them that they face serious consequences if they act in a way thats seen as lenient on Saddam or the senior leadership.As you know Salam the level of political pressure and the level of popular pressure to convict is enormous.
COMMENTARY
I have to agree with Nehal on this. The court has not been doing a good job of proving its independence and impartiality
COMMENTARY
So far after just one trial we have had 5 different judges. Of which 1 resigned and 2 have been removed.. One of them Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri Was replaced following accusations of bias from the Iraqi government - the now infamous you were never a dictator comment.
SUBTITLES
COURT TV
Judge: You are not a dictator.Saddam: Yes?Judge: Not a dictator.
PTC
Many Iraqis believe that Saddams crimes are public knowledge. Saddam has been tried and found guilty in the court of public opinion, if you will. and Im afraid catharsis demands that audience expectations be satisfied.
VOX (VOICED)
All of the people hope that the oppressor will be judged and he will be punished, Saddam Hussein must take his punishment
SALAM PTC
I worry that the verdict will end up sounding as hollow as the long list of meaningless milestones the coalition of the willing keeps reminding us of.No matter how much the US and UK governments stress the importance of a the verdict. The violence, death and pain the war has inflicted on us Iraqis has stripped this moment of its significance.We have to achieve peace first and then we can think about justice.
END TITLES AND MUSIC
Iraq court TV
Welcome back to Baghdad.
(SHOTS OF BAGHDAD)
Next week (or on the 5th November) we expect the Iraqi High Criminal Court to deliver a verdict on the very first trial against Saddam(?). Its almost exactly one year after our former dictator was put in the defendants cage for the first time last October, in 2005.
Hello and welcome back to Baghdad.A couple of weeks ago the chief prosecutor trying Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity said he hoped a verdict would be announced in the next few daysSo come with me for
Salam hands and face
ASTON 10:00:37 SALAM PAX
SALAM OOV No one can imagine anything other than a guilty verdict with the IN VISIONdeath penalty. But with more than 50 reported deaths a day and the total loss of safety and basic services how high is the priority of this trial in our lives as Iraqis? And is the verdict we are waiting for going to be as meaningful to us as we had hoped it would be when the trial first started?
Iraq court TV
SALAM OOVIts almost exactly one year after our former dictator was put in the defendants cage for the first time last October, in 2005.And as expected with all trials of this magnitude it got messy, complicated and confusing.
ARABIC SUBTITLES
COURT SOT
Saddam: By God! You should ask my comrades and justice will prevail. By God!Judge: Im going to ask you to calm down, this type of behaviour wont do.
IN VISION
SALAMBut no need to worry, today I give you
THE SALAM PAX GUIDE TO THE IRAQI HIGH CRIMINAL COURT
Streets of Baghdad
COMMENTARY
With all the death and destruction most people have lost interest in what could have been the trial of the century.But in order to try and understand the court I felt I needed to go and see it for myself. It was only my BBC credentials that got me past the strict US security screening. Something here about Here in Baghdad people dont really care so much about saddam and what could have been the trial of the century at elast for us anyway. The reason? life here is hard, the violence et cetc but also because Saddam no longer seems very relevant to our lives but also because
SALAM PTC
My cousins have been joking that I have been trying to get a date with Saddam. Well, today is the day.
Getting into car for court
PTC in car Im on my way to the court now. Im on my way to the court now and I dont know what to expect. It is going to be the first time I am actually with Saddam in the same room. I feel a strange mixture of curiosity and unease. But well see how it goes.
PTC in car We are getting very close to the point where I need to put my camera away as the camera is something else I am not allowed to take in with me. Basically the only thing I am allowed to bring in with me is a note book and I pen.The list of things I am not allowed to tell you about the court for security reasons is very long and instead of getting myself into trouble for telling you things I shouldnt let me give you some background information about the court instead.
SALAM PTC
The court was established as early as December 2003 - the same month Saddam was captured - but we had to wait two years for procedures to start.OOVIn those two years judges and prosecutors examined over two million documents, collected testimony from around 7,000 witnesses, and read reports by forensic experts from roughly 200 mass graves throughout Iraq. To keep identities of court clerks and officials secret we get this screen. And as an extra measure the judge has a kill switch to turn off all microphones in the courtroom, to be use when the defendants decide to turn the proceedings into a political rally. Which happens often enough.
Iraqi Special Tribunal (Iraqi Governing Council)- Iraqi High Criminal Court (new name after the Iraqi Gov amended the statute of the court, an attempt to distance itself from the fact that it was established by an occupying force through the IGC as a proxy) - Iraqi High Tribunal (on web, various experts)- Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal - all these are used to describe the court which is concerned with the crimes of the Saddam regime. The official name used by the Iraqi Government is IHCC.One of the especially absurd moments in the tribunals short history would have to be the fact that the courts statute, although in a country where the official language is Arabic, was written in English and later translated to Arabic,the translation was shoddy apparently and there was a provision in the IST statute that the English text would control!!! No wonder there was more than a murmur regarding issues of legitimacy.In an attempt to resolve this issue and give the tribunal more legality and legitimacy some amendments to the ISTs statute were made accompanied by general editing process and a change of name, the IST became the IHCC. These amendments and a law regarding the IHCC made by the Iraqi National Assembly were all attempts by Iraqi legislators to shake away the image that this is still Bremers court.
SUBTITLES Wide, the defendants in the cage, Saddams chair is empty COURT TV(Judge: The Higher Criminal Iraqi Court )SADDAM: Im asking you, I want a reply to speak with you.JUDGE: I have decided to have you removed from this session. Take him out. Take him out. Take him out!
COMMENTARYThis is not the first time Saddam has been thrown out of court. So, what are the charges against Saddam? Let me give you an idea.
The Dujail Case Saddams role in the 1982 execution of around 148 Iraqi civilians in Dujail, a predominantly Shiite town north of Baghdad)Anfal Over 100,000 Kurds were killed during a campaign that lasted from 1986 to 1989the Halabja Chemical Attacks over 5,000 killed in one villageInvading Kuwait, war crimes committed in Kuwait.Mass executions of Marsh Arabs about 50,000 Killing and deporting of Kurdish Barzani tribe, more than 10,000 members of that tribe were affected.
PTC in car
Just out of the court and my head is buzzing, just give me a second to collect my thoughts. But you know what the funniest thing was . in front of the press gallery there are actually curtains and they sort of close them when you are not supposed to see what is happening and then they open them again when it all starts. It is just a circus.
(01:39:51) There is a lot I cannot tell you about. I cannot tell you how we got there, where the building is, what the building is like, how many clerks and court officials were there, I cannot tell you about the movement of the defendants, actually we werent even let into the press gallery until they were all seated. And when they had a recess for lunch, they let us out first. There are actually curtains and they sort of close them when you are not supposed to see what is happening and then they open them again when it all starts. It is just a circus.
PTC SALAM
While in the press gallery in court we are in the back and we only get to see the back of their heads. And I kept trying to get glimpses of Saddam. It is just really bizarre for some reason he was totally dressed up for the occasion today. He had a black suit on, his hair was freshly dyed black and he had a breast pocket hanky on. You want to see something in his eyes or the others eyes or something in their voice that says they acknowledge what they have done. That they realize that they have done so many bad things. But that did not really happen.
Actually(01:37:15) and obviously after all these months of listening to all these people, the witnesses telling their stories nothing really has clicked and they still are the people who they are. Even though some of the, physically arent as frightening as they used to be. I dont know maybe we sort of projected that on them. I mean for example take Chemical Ali (Hasan al-Majeed) he was frail, he was thinner and he was stooping when he stood and and using a walking cane. And suddenly he isnt that terrorizing figure who used to kill and torture people under his leaders command. I dont maybe we have projected these big things on these humans while they are just as mortal as all of us but you have this idea that you are going to see some thing really frightening and you go and you see there and it is not.
(01:38:41) I mean Saddam still commands a room when he talk. It was just amazing. He stands up an starts talking and everybody just stops talking. That was he still has that, which I find very frightening. Really very frightening that he can still do that. Even though, I was writing down what he was saying and you realize that it is either full of historical lies or just rambling going no where but when he talks everybody stops talking and listens. And I think this is how you get this very charismatic dictatorial figures, they seem not to need talk sense all the time.
COURT TVSADDAM:
Your Honour, are you going to allow what is happening?
Judge:
Never mind, a man should be gracious from their heart.
Saddam:
Yes I am gracious from my heart, is there anyone more gracious than Saddam Hussein in the whole world?Judge: Lets hope so.
COMMENTARY
Another thing, I left the court with a deep respect for the plaintiffs and their courage. While the media might focus on Saddams antics we forget that this is about bringing justice to people who have suffered a lot and now they have to go through all that trauma again.
ASTON 10:07:46
SALEH QADER MOHAMMED
Plaintiff, Anfal Case
Plaintiff Saleh Qader Mohammed (VOICED)My problem is with Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan Majid and those are the people in the cage. Nothing will compensate me for the loss of my mother and father when I was only ten years old. What can compensate me for the loss of my parents, my mother and father.
COMMENTARY
This man has waited 23 years to be able to face Saddam and say these words. If there is anything that justifies this court it has to moments like these.
PTC in car
Three years ago, soon after the dust of the war settled I went to visit a group of people who were gathering thousands of documents from prisons and Secret Police offices all over Iraq.
Pics at door notices on walls etc
COMMENTARY
Even though I didnt see the crowds of people who used to come here to ask about lost family members the notices on the walls are still here. As was, Ibrahim al-Idrisi, the founder of this organisation. I asked him what he thought of the court.
ASTON 10:08:50
IBRAHIM AL-IDRISI
Founder, Association of Free Prisoners
IBRAHIM AL-IDRISI (VOICED)Its not just me, everyone is saying this has become a spectacle.IN VISIONAn insult and torture to all the people concerned because they are glorifying Saddam and they are glorifying him in court. The truth is some of them consider him to be a symbol. The issue is that Saddam is becoming a national hero.
COMMENTARYToday the Association has only this computer left working. Even though the Courts investigators have used the data collected here. There is no money for the work to continue anymore.
VOICED
AL-IDRISI Up until now we have received documents for 130,885 political deaths. And 105,187 political prisoners, that have been released. The sum total of this work, is only about 10% of what is still waiting to be archived.
COMMENTARY
$75 Million dollars were provided by the US government for establishing the court and it seems as though no effort was made to include us Iraqis. Why havent they used resources like the archives collected by the Free Prisoners Association? And the result of shutting us? Fear - we all feel it, at home and on the streets.
VOICED VOX
People are afraid and want to stay away from trouble. Its chaos here. If you talk they might come and kill you. Its happened. No one talks about this, they are afraid.
At least he said something. I developed a very thick skin from all the rejections, most people are too afraid to talk.
VOICED VOX 2
No I cant may God protect you
VOICED VOX 3
Its a farce and it harms the people. I mean every time Saddam is on TV there are more bombings, destruction and innocent people die
Well he was a Shia and he would say that wouldnt he!
www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/22/africa/ME_GEN_Iraq_Protest.php Associated PressSeptember 22, 2006 And the other side of the coin? Well, look at what was going on in Saddams home town of Tikret just one month ago
SALAM PTC
This issue of Saddam and his regime, is very divisive and I realized that if I want a truly impartial opinion about the court I will have to look outside of Iraq.So I arranged to talk to Nehal Bhuta. He is part of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch.The first thing I wanted to ask him is how well he thought the tribunal was doing .
ASTON 10:11:37
NEHAL BHUTA Human Rights Watch
NEHAL BHUTA
I think its struggling legally. There hasnt been up to now any international criminal trials in the Iraqi domestic system and these kinds of laws have never been interpreted and applied and certainly trials of this length and complexity are quite new and my own observation of criminal courts in Iraq suggest that trials happen fairly quickly they are over in 20 -30 minutes.
SALAM
Is it fair to say at least in terms of Iraqi trials its a big improvement?
NEHAL
This trial is a big improvement so thats a fair point. The question for us though and for the wider international community is, is a bit better than normal good enough.
COMMENTARY
But for many Iraqis this International pressure to give Saddam a fair trial is seen as extending an unnecessary courtesy to him.
VOX (VOICED)
These organisations dont have a dictator like Saddam. Huh if they had they wouldnt be talking like that. Let them see what a dictator is like, hopefully they wont have anyone like Saddam or a dictator.
COMMENTARY
And the acid test will be this impending verdict of the first trial where Saddam Hussein and seven other defendants have been charged with for the killing of 148 Shias in Dujail in 1982 following an assassination attempt. Nehal Bhuta feels there were some fundamental flaws with this trial.
NEHAL BHUTA
We have some reservations about whether in fact the prosecution made the case or not, now ultimately thats a matter for the judges, its already been made clear to them that they face serious consequences if they act in a way thats seen as lenient on Saddam or the senior leadership.As you know Salam the level of political pressure and the level of popular pressure to convict is enormous.
COMMENTARY
I have to agree with Nehal on this. The court has not been doing a good job of proving its independence and impartiality
COMMENTARY
So far after just one trial we have had 5 different judges. Of which 1 resigned and 2 have been removed.. One of them Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri Was replaced following accusations of bias from the Iraqi government - the now infamous you were never a dictator comment.
SUBTITLES
COURT TV
Judge: You are not a dictator.Saddam: Yes?Judge: Not a dictator.
PTC
Many Iraqis believe that Saddams crimes are public knowledge. Saddam has been tried and found guilty in the court of public opinion, if you will. and Im afraid catharsis demands that audience expectations be satisfied.
VOX (VOICED)
All of the people hope that the oppressor will be judged and he will be punished, Saddam Hussein must take his punishment
SALAM PTC
I worry that the verdict will end up sounding as hollow as the long list of meaningless milestones the coalition of the willing keeps reminding us of.No matter how much the US and UK governments stress the importance of a the verdict. The violence, death and pain the war has inflicted on us Iraqis has stripped this moment of its significance.We have to achieve peace first and then we can think about justice.
END TITLES AND MUSIC