http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/world/middleeast/25husseincnd.html?hp&ex=1148529600&en=a57d46721729951c&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Tariq Aziz Takes Stand in Hussein Trial By JOHN O'NEIL Published: May 24, 2006 Tariq Aziz, who as deputy prime minister was the international face of Saddam Hussein's Iraq, today made his first public appearance since the 2003 invasion as a witness for one of Mr. Hussein's co-defendants. Pool photo by Marco Di Lauro In his first public appearance since 2003, Iraq's former foreign minister went on the offensive. Speaking calmly in a gravelly voice, Mr. Aziz went on the offensive. He demanded that the party of the nation's new prime minister be investigated for its role in the assassination attempt against Mr. Hussein that is at the heart of the trial, and for what he said was a separate assassination attempt against himself. Mr. Hussein and the seven other defendants are charged with crimes against humanity in connection for reprisal killings, including the execution of 148 people and the torture of many others, after gunmen tried to shoot him in the Shiite village of Dujail in 1982. The attempt was the work of the Dawa party, which now is led by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Mr. Aziz, who has been in American custody since the invasion, did not testify directly about the events in Dujail. Instead, he described an attack against him at Mustansariyah University in which three hand grenades were thrown at him. Mr. Aziz said that tens of civilians died in the attack, which he blamed on Dawa members, although a later witness said that only one person had been killed. Mr. Aziz said he was discussing the incident at the university to show that the shooting in Dujail was a "link in a whole chain of attacks on officials in the government." When Judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman expressed exasperation that Mr. Aziz was testifying without direct knowledge of the events in the indictment, Mr. Aziz replied, "Your honor, I'm also a victim of the criminal acts conducted by a party which is an official party in the government." "I'd like you to try this party for the attacks against me," he said. "Those people killed at Mustansariyah University, aren't they Iraqis, too?" Mr. Aziz also defended Mr. Hussein's half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, who led the Mukhabarat, or secret police. Mr. Aziz said that Mukhabarat did not play a role in the investigation, and that if Mr. Tikriti had been torturing defendants he would have told him. "He didn't say anything about torturing people to confess," said Mr. Aziz. "That confirms what I have said. He didn't have anything to do with this issue." [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get to your groups with one click. Know instantly when new email arrives http://us.click.yahoo.com/.7bhrC/MGxNAA/yQLSAA/uTGrlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
