Sepcial Report: Trial of Saddam Hussein

Rizgar Muhammed Amin, the former chief judge of Saddam's trial watches Saddam's trial on TV at home in Sulaimaniyah, some 330 km north of the capital April 5, 2006. (Xinhua Photo)

ARBIL, Iraq, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Less than three months ago, he was probably the world's most famous judge as he was trying former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein under the spotlight.

    But, Rizgar Muhammed Amin, the former chief judge of Saddam's trial, suddenly quit, on Jan. 15, citing "health reasons."

    "I am happy that I am out of this trail. I am happy to watch it on television while sitting at home," Amin told Xinhua at home in Sulaimaniyah, some 330 km north of the capital. In Baghdad, Amin's successor, Raouf Abdul Rahman, was trying Saddam in his own manner.

    "As a judge, I would always love to follow the proceeding, particularly this one, since I took part in it for a while," said Amin, a 48-year-old Kurd who graduated from the Law School of Baghdad University in 1980 and served as a regional judge under Saddam's rule.

    But he had no record of political activism, or connections to Kurdish militia active in northern Iraq.

    On Oct. 19, 2005, it was Amin who opened the first session of the trial on Saddam and his seven aides on charges of crimes against humanity.

    He submitted his resignation on Jan. 15 after politicians and officials, mostly Shiites, complained about the slow pace of the proceeding and his failure to maintain order in court. Some also accused him of being too lenient with Saddam and hisco-defendants, especially Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim. Amin, however, disagreed till now.

    "The court should give enough chance to the defendant to express his ideas, and then the judge is the one who weigh up what is relevant or irrelevant to the case," he said. "I haven't met Saddam personally before, but I was treating him according to the principle that the defendant is innocent until proved guilty," he said.

    Yet he refused to make any comment about the way Rahman, also aKurd aged at 46, treated Saddam, which many said was tough and strict.

    Amin also refused to comment on Saddam's self-defense and performance of the prosecutor.

    "No comment, as the trial is still going on," he said in a calm and diplomatic manner while watching TV and writing down some remarks on a notebook.

    Asked about whether he would use the remarks in the future, he said, "Well, I can't tell, but maybe it will be useful for personal diary, or something else." Enditem