Saddam Hussein’s only Christian cabinet member seeks presidential pardon

Lawyers for the only Iraqi Christian in the late Saddam Hussein’s inner circle requested recently for a presidential pardon for their client from death by hanging.

Attorneys for Tariq Aziz, the former vice prime minister of Saddam Hussein, opted for a presidential pardon rather than appeal the death sentence Aziz was given for the complicity in the persecution of Shiite Muslims under Saddam, the AP said.

Aziz’ sentence sparked international requests for leniency and/or amnesty from the Vatican, Greece, Moscow and anti-death penalty European countries, the UPI said. It is largely believed that under Saddam, Christians in Iraq were protected because of Aziz.

Giovanni Di Stefano, lawyer of Aziz, said his client was hardly involved in the despot’s ethnic cleansing of the Shiites, and noted that there were no witnesses in the trial who could prove otherwise, according to the AP.

Di Stefano also cited several constitutional issues that absolve Aziz and said, “It is thus necessary that in all democratic societies where the judiciary potentially or even remotely fails the constitution, the president is duty bound to intervene. The powers of pardon are granted to ensure that injustice does not occur,” according to UPI.

Unjust, vengeful

Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk said that Aziz “could not oppose the government of Saddam Hussein, since those who dared to express a different opinion were killed,” the Catholic News Agency reported.

Sako said the death sentence is “unjust” and “an act of vengeance that will not help bring about peace,” according to the Catholic News Agency.

Risky

According to the AP, the move for presidential pardon is risky. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, after five years in office, has granted minimal to no pardons, and even if he does, there are constitutional means to bypass it.

The AP said this could be done through an act of parliament, or with the approval of a deputy of Talabani. Furthermore, the constitution only permits presidential pardon “on the recommendation of the prime minister,” who is Nouri al-Maliki of the Shiite Dawa party, one of Saddam’s victims.

If a pardon is not granted, Aziz could be hanged at any time. However, the appeals court has no time limit for deciding whether to uphold or reverse a sentence, the AP said.

An unnamed Justice Ministry official told the AP that appeals tend to focus on specific objections unlike the government, making it a better option for Aziz. However, because the 30-day period to file an appeal has lapsed, it is all moot.

Unfazed

Di Stefano is not fazed by constitutional limits and said an appeal would only waste time because he doubted the court would reverse the sentence adding, “If the trial was unfair, then imagine the appeal.”

Instead, Di Stefano said with the many international appeals, a presidential pardon provides “the diplomatic solution people have been waiting for.” He said Aziz does not seek special treatment for being a Christian, but “He seeks the pardon as a step toward reconciliation of Iraq. Enough people have been killed, enough people have been executed,” the AP reported.

Archbishop Sako said that death penalty sentences show a government is weak. He said Iraq should ban the death penalty “so that the country can truly develop towards democracy and reconciliation,” Catholic News Agency reported.

Last week Talabani, when speaking to reporters from Paris, said that he wouldn’t sign the execution warrant of Aziz, according to the UPI.

Source: The Underground, November 26, 2010