The chief lawyer in the defence team representing former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said yesterday that the defence will not appear in court until newly selected chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman resigns. ?We cannot attend any trial session unless the chief judge resigns because he holds a personal grudge against my client,? Saddam?s chief lawyer Khalil Dulaimi told Reuters yesterday.

Saddam?s trial collapsed into chaos moments after resuming on Sunday, when he and his defence team stormed out and guards dragged his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti from the courtroom after he refused to keep quiet. ?This will be a main condition to attendance at any future session,? Dulaimi said of the resignation demand. The lawyer said the Kurdish judge could not be impartial because he?d been sentenced twice in absentia by courts under Saddam?s rule and was a member of an opposition Kurdish nationalist party.

Abdel Rahman set up organisations to help his hometown of Halabja recover from a gas attack by Saddam?s forces in 1988 which killed 5,000 people, including some of his relatives. His Kurdish background may have led some people to question his impartiality. Saddam is expected to face charges of crimes against humanity in the Halabja case.

Saddam and his defence team stormed out of court after the newly appointed Abdel Rahman tried to stamp his authority on the court, telling lawyers he would not allow them to make political statements in court. The new chief judge is under pressure to deal firmly with Saddam after the government accused his predecessor, who resigned two weeks ago, of being too lenient on the former Iraqi leader. Saddam?s courtroom tirades have dominated proceedings.

Suleiman AL-KHALIDI