Hussein Jousts With Iraqi Judge Over His Rights in a Court Hearing

By JOHN F. BURNS
Published: July 22, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 21 - A new court videotape broadcast on Thursday showed a caustic but emaciated Saddam Hussein complaining to an investigative judge about limits on access to his lawyer and about the entire process of holding him prisoner while Iraqi prosecutors prepare to try him for atrocities committed during his 24-year rule.

'Right now, I'm a prisoner - that's what is being said,' Mr. Hussein said in the tape aired by Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, which provided the first opportunity for the public to hear the former dictator speaking since a court appearance last July. 'It's a game, as you'll see. I am a prisoner of the Iraqi government, but that government was appointed by the Americans.'

Moments later, Mr. Hussein interrupted the judge, Munir Hadad, as he read from a legal document outlining the former Iraqi leader's right to a lawyer.

'When do I see my lawyer?' Mr. Hussein asked, motioning to Khalil al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi defense attorney hired by the Hussein family. 'Is it right that I see my lawyer only when there is a hearing, and that I know that there is to be a hearing only when I'm already in it? Is this the law?'"