THE TRIAL of Saddam Hussein descended further into farce yesterday as the newly appointed chief judge in the case was himself replaced.
Just days after assurances by US and Iraqi officials that the trial would proceed without further ado, Sayeed al-Hamashi, the presiding judge who last week replaced Rizgar Amin who resigned due to pressure he was too soft on Saddam, was forced to step down yesterday.
Saddam Hussein's all-star legal team immediately slammed the trial, saying it had lost all credibility and should be shifted to another country.
The demise of Hamashi, who is a Shia, followed revelations he was being investigated by Iraq's Debaathification Committee for his alleged close links to the former Saddam regime.
The court trying the deposed Iraqi dictator has now appointed Raouf Abdel Rahman, a Kurd, to the post.
Rahman, who until yesterday had remained anonymous for security reasons, is said to have been initially unwilling to take over the role. However, a court official said: " We were running out of judges; don't forget there are just five in the panel."
The new chief judge, Mr Rahman, is from Halabja, where 5,000 people were killed by a gas attack by Saddam’s forces in 1988. Tribunal officials said that, despite this, the judge would be "fair and impartial".
Seven people associated with the trial, including two members of the defence team, have so far been killed.
Ramsey Clark, a former US attorney general, and a specialist in defending war criminals, who is on Saddam's team, said: "It's unthinkable that they would press forward. We expect greater intimidation and pressures."
Saddam is facing charges relating to the deaths of 140 people at the Shia town of Dujail in 1982.
If the trial proceeds this week as planned, Saddam may be confronted from the witness stand by former associates.
The current trial could be finished by late May, but at least half a dozen trials are being planned, and the process may take years.
To add to the confusion, the Iraqi government is yet to accept Rizgar Amin's resignation.