INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS APPLY TO REPRESENT SADAAM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004779

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS KCRM KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL LAWYERS APPLY TO REPRESENT SADAAM
HUSSEIN


Classified By: DEPUTY CHIEF OF MISSION DAVID M. SATTERFIELD
FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (S) SUMMARY: Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey
Clark, Issam al-Ghazzawi (Jordan),and Dr. Najeeb Al-
Noaimi (Qatar) are seeking to join the defense team of
Saddam Hussein in the Ad Dujayl trial now in front of
the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT). The principal Iraqi
attorney for Saddam Hussein, Kaleel al-Dolami,
sponsored their applications to join the team in open
court on November 28. The Regime Crimes Liaison
Office (RCLO) expects that the IHT will formally admit
these three lawyers on December 5 after it reviews the
submitted paperwork. END SUMMARY.

--------------
ARRIVAL IN BAGHDAD
--------------


2. (S) On August 24, Saddam Hussein affirmed that he
had fired all of his attorneys (including any non-
Iraqi lawyers working on the case) except his
principal Iraqi attorney, Kaleel al-Dolami.
Notwithstanding this affirmation, on November 23,
Ramsey Clark sent the IHT a set of letters (dated
November 22) requesting that the IHT admit him, Mr.
Ghazzawi, and Dr. Al-Noaimi as defense lawyers in the
ongoing Ad Dujayl trial. The request was unclear in
that Mr. Clark stated that he wished to represent
Kaleel al-Dolami on security matters as opposed to
representing a particular defendant.


3. (S) On November 23, the IHT sent an email to Mr.
Clark (through Dr. Curtis Doebbler, a U.S. human
rights attorney who has represented the Taliban and
other notorious figures) affirming that "in principal"
a meeting between the IHT and the international
lawyers could occur on November 26. The email
stipulated, however, that, before any meeting could
take place, the lawyers had to clarify who are their
clients and what are the issues they seek to discuss;
the lawyers also would have to submit the appropriate
paperwork for admission to the IHT. The non-Iraqi
defense attorneys did not respond substantively to
this email. Instead, they confirmed that they would
appear in Iraq on November 26 and immediately booked
plane tickets to Baghdad. Through Dr. Doebbler, the
lawyers contacted the RCLO and demanded security
arrangements. The IHT and the RCLO sent several
communications (by email and telephone) to Mr. Clark,
repeating the IHT's position that it would not meet
with the lawyers unless Mr. al-Dolami filed the
appropriate paperwork on their behalf for admission to
practice before the Tribunal. Moreover, the IHT and
the RCLO advised that neither body would provide
security for the lawyers absent their formal
admission.


4. (S) Despite these warnings, Mr. Clark, Mr. al-
Ghazzawi, and Dr. Al-Noaimi arrived in Iraq on
November 26. The RCLO secured transport to the IZ for
the attorneys and arranged for their housing at the
Al-Rasheed hotel. Despite the fact that Mr. Clark had
ignored the IHT's and the RCLO's warnings not to come
to Baghdad until the lawyers had been admitted to the
court and security had been arranged, RCLO provided
security to the three lawyers in the form of secure
transportation and housing.

--------------
Proceedings Before the Court
--------------


5. (S) Upon arriving in Iraq, the RCLO made sure that
each non-Iraqi lawyer underwent a security screening
to allow their entry to the IHT. Chief Judge of the
Ad Dujayl trial chamber, Rizgar Mohammed Amin, invoked
Article 19(4) of the IHT Statute and stated that the
three attorneys were entitled to represent Saddam
Hussein if: Saddam submitted a written power of
attorney to the Tribunal; each attorney submitted
proof that his law license was valid; and Mr. al-
Dolami submitted a request for their admittance on
behalf of Saddam. RCLO attorneys communicated this
advice to the three non-Iraqi lawyers.


6. (S) Dr. Al-Noami and Mr. Al-Ghazzai each carried
with them valid bar identification cards from their
home countries. Mr. Clark brought a copy of his
admittance to the U.S. Supreme Court but failed to
provide a certificate of good standing from New York
or Washington, DC, the two state bars in which he
claims membership. Each lawyer also presented a copy
of a power of attorney which Saddam Hussein previously
had granted to them at the request of Mr. al-Dolami.
Mr. al-Dolami submitted the documents to Judge Rizgar
in open court on November 28 after Saddam Hussein
affirmed in original ink that he was requesting the
assistance of these attorneys. Judge Rizgar granted
the lawyers' application to appear before the Court
and allowed them to sit in court on November 28 even
though the IHT had not yet formally admitted them.

--------------
Experience of International Lawyers
--------------

7. (U) William Ramsey Clark is a well-known civil
rights lawyer and activist. He served in the U.S.
Marine Corps in 1945-46 and earned a law degree from
the University of Chicago in 1950. He worked at the
law firm of Clark, Reed, and Clark from 1951 to 1961
until his appointment as Assistant Attorney General of
the Lands Division (1961-1965) and Deputy Attorney
General (1965-1967) of the U.S. In 1967, President
Johnson appointed Mr. Clark to the position of U.S.
Attorney General. He served in that capacity until

1969. Following his term as Attorney General, Mr.
Clark worked as a law professor and was active in the
anti-Vietnam War movement. He also has provided legal
advice to many controversial figures including
Slobodan Milosevic, Charles Taylor from Liberia, and
Branch Davidian leader David Koresh. Not an expert in
international law, he is expected to serve as a
figurehead for the defense team.


8. (S) Dr. Najeeb Al-Noaimi is the former Minister of
Justice of Qatar and an expert in public international
law. According to Dr. Al-Noami, he has litigated
before the International Court of Justice, having
served as an agent in the Advisory Opinion on the
Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons Case.
He also served as a legal adviser to the International
Criminal Court. According to Dr. Al-Noami's website,
he graduated from Alexandria University in 1981 and
received a Ph.D. in international law from Dundee
University in the U.K. in 1987.


9. (S) Issam M. Al-Ghazzawi is a Jordanian lawyer who
has served on the defense team of Saddam Hussein for
several years. His bar registry number is 2963 and is
valid until December 31, 2005.

-------------- --------------
Future Arrangements for International Defense Lawyers
-------------- --------------


10. (S) The lawyers have informed the RCLO that they
and Kaleel al-Dolami intend to depart Iraq on November
29, and the RCLO has agreed to provide them secure
transport from the Al-Rasheed Hotel to Baghdad
International Airport.


11. (S) The trial will resume on December 5. RCLO has
asked the lawyers to give advance notice of their
return trip plans in order to prepare their security.
The three lawyers will be provided security similar to
that offered to other defense counsel in the case.
All accommodations for Mr. Clark result from his
participation in the case, rather than from his former
position with the United States.
KHALILZAD