IRAQ. BAR ASSOCIATION URGES BOYCOTT OF SADDAM COURT

the Iraqi Bar Association urged lawyers to stop working with the special court hearing the case against Saddam Hussein until the murder of Saadoun Janabi, a member of the defense team, was solved. The association also passed a resolution calling a one-day strike for October 26 to protest the killing of Janabi, who was bundled out of his Baghdad office on October 20 by heavily-armed men and later found dead of gunshot wounds.
"The crime was clear and witnessed, and it should be easy for any investigatory agency to solve, so arresting the killers should not be difficult," bar association president Khamal Hamdoon Mulla Allawi told reporters.
"The purpose behind this assassination was to prevent lawyers from doing their duty. Protecting lawyers will be possible only if the killers are caught and put behind bars."
Iraq's government has condemned the murder, which some human rights groups said could have a "chilling effect" on Saddam's defense team and dim hopes for a fair trial.
Janabi appeared in court on October 19 representing one of Saddam's seven co-accused at the start of their trial for crimes against humanity. He was one of several lawyers who used the nationally-televised opportunity to challenge the tribunal, which was set up under US occupation. Witnesses said Janabi's kidnappers identified themselves as employees of the Interior Ministry, often accused by Sunni Arab groups as sanctioning hit squads run by Shi'ite militiamen. The ministry repeatedly denied the allegations, and the government on October 21 strongly denied any involvement in the murder, saying it was ready to boost the already tight trial security.