"BAGHDAD, Iraq - One of Saddam Hussein’s main lawyers was shot to death Wednesday after he was abducted from his Baghdad home by men wearing police uniforms, the third killing of a member of the former leader’s defense team since the trial started some eight months ago.
Khamis al-Obeidi, an Iraqi who represented Saddam and his half brother Barzan Ibrahim in their trial, was abducted from his house Wednesday morning, said Saddam’s top lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi. His body was found on a street near the Shiite slum of Sadr City, police Lt. Thaer Mahmoud said.
Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi confirmed that al-Obeidi had been killed, although he did not provide any details."
...and we care why?
"Saddam and his seven co-defendants are charged with crimes against humanity for a crackdown after a shooting attack on Saddam’s motorcade as he visited the town of Dujail in 1982. They allegedly arrested hundreds of Shiites, including women and children, tortured some to death and killed 148 in all.
The prosecution presented its final arguments on Monday, demanding the death penalty for the former Iraqi leader. After a three-week recess, the defense gets to sum up its case, then a panel of judges will begin weighing the case.
Yeah, and don't forget the three-hundred-thousand or so other Iraqis Saddam waxed over the years.
"Unlike al-Dulaimi, who shuttles between Amman, Jordan, and the Iraqi capital, al-Obeidi chose to continue living in Baghdad during the trial despite the capital’s tenuous security. He lived in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah in northern Baghdad.
Al-Dulaimi blamed the Interior Ministry, which Sunnis have alleged is infiltrated by so-called Shiite death squads, for the killing. “We strongly condemn this act and we condemn the killings done by the Interior Ministry forces against Iraqis,” he said.
Bushra al-Khalil, a Lebanese member of the defense team, also said al-Obeidi was taken from his house early Wednesday by men dressed in police uniforms and driving four vehicles used by Iraqi security forces.
“They blindfolded him and took him away,” said al-Khalil, who was thrown out of the courtroom last month by chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman. “No one can go out during curfew time in Baghdad."
Oh yeah......"Iraqi police". This witnessed by a member of his team - a Lebanese member of PLO at that. Right!
How about some of Saddam's sympathizers who smelling the gallows for their boss decide to throw a little "delay" at Khamis al-Obeidi's expense.
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