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CNN Live Event/Special
Iraq: The Next Chapter, Allawi News Conference
Aired June 29, 2004 - 06:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we want to go to a press conference in Baghdad with Prime Minister Ayad al-Allawi. Let's listen to that.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Saddam Hussein, along with up to 11 other high-value detainees, will be transferred to the legal custody of Iraq tomorrow, and will be charged before an Iraqi investigative judge on the following day.
More than one million Iraqis are missing as the result of events that occurred in the former regime. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis of all religious and ethnic groups are believed to be buried in mass graves.
Those we believe most responsible for Iraq's suffering will face Iraqi justice in the Iraqi Special Tribunal established in December to try former regime associates for crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. The trials in the Iraqi Special Tribunal will be conducted by Iraqi judges.
I know I speak for my fellow countrymen when I say I look forward to the day former regime leaders face justice, God willing.
At our request, the multinational forces will continue to maintain physical custody of them until Iraq's correction service is fully capable of providing for their safety and secure detention of the accused. And up to that date, the multinational force will keep those detainees and will transfer them over to Iraqi justice. The multinational force has agreed to this, and they will keep them for the Iraqis, but Iraq will keep the legal custody. This agreement has been formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding entered into by the Ministry of Justice and the multinational force.
And so, in the coming days, we will see the commencement of criminal proceedings against Saddam Hussein and others we believe were most responsible for crimes against the Iraqi people and others. And because we are for independent judiciary, the accused will appear in front of the Iraqi court, and they will be afforded rights that were denied by the former regime.
The accused will have the right to -- the accused will have access to legal counsel, and they will have the right to appoint legal counsel. And the accused will have access to legal counsel free of charge if they are unable to pay. The accused may not be compelled to testify against themselves and may remain silent. While the legal proceedings against some members of the former regime may begin soon, the judicial process will take some time. Justice will begin however, and the progress of these cases will be opened for all to see. The Iraqi Special Tribunal is continuing to organize its trial (UNINTELLIGIBLE) chambers while investigative judges are conducting investigations into the atrocities that may be brought before the tribunal.
We will likely not see the trial of Saddam begin for a number of months. I urge the Iraqi people to be patient, and justice will prevail. And thank you very much.
We'll take questions if you have them. The minister of justice is also here available.
QUESTION (through translator): Asure (ph) TV. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for the transfer of sovereignty. But lots of legal experts and especially the Arabs, they are now questioning the legitimacy of this government and to say that if the former regime elements of Saddam Hussein were to declare another government in exile, they have the right to do so. What is your opinion?
ALLAWI (through translator): What is your source? It was on the Internet, and this is the opinion of the Egyptian legal experts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Microphone please.
QUESTION (through translator): How will these proceedings take place? This is going to be -- some say that this is going to be political process more than a judicial process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The proceedings are going to be -- this proceedings of this tribunal, are they going to be judicial or political? And that this will take shape through the way we're going to be dealing with the accused and the questioning of the accused. All of that will give you a clue if this is going to be a legal proceeding or a political proceeding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Microphone please. Microphone please.
QUESTION (through translator): Will Saddam -- is Saddam going to be prejudged, and is this going to be just a formality? If you don't have any evidence against him, how are you going to be sentencing Saddam?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is a logical question. If we do not have any evidence against Saddam, the tribunal is going to declare him innocent. But if we have sufficient evidence against him, then he's going to be indicted. This is the result of any trial.
QUESTION: Who are the other 11 top former regime elements who will be transferred? And the second question: When will the counsel of Saddam or somebody who could be appointed counsel have the access... ALLAWI: I'm sorry, sir. It's not clear. The second part of the question is not clear.
QUESTION: The second part, at what time will legal representatives have access to Mr. Saddam?
ALLAWI: His legal counsel, you mean?
QUESTION: Yes.
ALLAWI: No, we are now talking about the transfer to the Iraqi jurisdiction, and this will happen tomorrow or take place tomorrow. Once this takes place, and then, of course, he is entitled to appoint his lawyers. The rest of the suspects, the criminals suspected of crimes committed against the Iraqi people, we'll distribute the names later today.
Over there (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
QUESTION: Thank you. I'm Larry Cappalo (ph) with Cox (ph) newspapers.
Could you explain how you're positioned toward other detainees being held currently by the coalition forces? There are several groups. You could have regular criminals or people suspected of security crimes or others who were in the former regime. How do you expect to handle each of those groups?
ALLAWI: Now, we now are talking about a specific group of suspects. This other question will be deferred later, but now we are talking about Saddam and the 11 people. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
QUESTION (through translator): Hali Massadi (ph) of Sabach (ph) newspaper.
Some of the former regime elements that committed crimes against these people were not pre-handed like Al-Douri. How are you going to try those? Are you going to be conducting some trials in absentia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For sure. If we have evidence against them, they will be tried in absentia, for sure.
QUESTION (through translator): Al-Jomholian Apali (ph). Mr. Prime Minister, what are the procedures that your government is going to take to deal with the security situation? Are you going to declare a state of emergency or emergency law?
ALLAWI (through translator): I want questions to be related to this subject. We will talk and tell you about those procedures later, maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We will tell you about those procedures that were adopted by the cabinet.
Behind you, blue shirt.
QUESTION: Sir, will Saddam have the right to represent himself in court? And if he does have that internationally recognized legal right, then how will you prevent him from behaving like Milosevic did in the early days of his trial and indeed now, which has gone on for about two years and has no end in sight, and caused at the time a degree of unrest in Serbia?
ALLAWI: No, Saddam will be entitled to have representation. He is entitled to appoint lawyers. And maybe if he doesn't have money to appoint lawyers, the government will pay the money so he is represented well. We assure you that this will be a just trial and a fair trial, unlike the trials that he inflicted on his enemies and on the Iraqi people.
QUESTION: I'm sorry, sir. That's not what I asked. Will he be able to represent himself if he so chooses without an attorney?
ALLAWI: He can represent himself, yes.
QUESTION: Lindsay Hillson (ph), Channel 4 News. Is there a danger that Saddam Hussein could use the opportunity of appearing in court for propaganda in order to plead his own cause and gather more followers? And what would you do about that?
ALLAWI: Well, this is really a theoretical question. The courts will be just courts. There will be definitely proof and evidence. And it will be a full legal proceeding. We don't think that he will be able to stage a propaganda coup, but it will be an open trial. It will be in open court. And he is entitled to any representation.
QUESTION (through translator): Egyptian Nirist (ph) Agency. The Americans gave a status of POW status to Saddam Hussein. Are you going to lift the status on him once you take over his custody?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): His status is not of interest to us. That status that was given to him when he was arrested by the coalition forces is not of interest to us. What is of interest to us is the status under which we take custody of him. He is accused of crimes that he has committed in Iraq, and he's an accused that is facing accusation, and he does not have any privileges under the POW status of Geneva conventions.
QUESTION (through translator): Dr. Ayad Allawi, you have said that this is going to be an open hearing. What if Saddam asks the tribunal for this proceeding to be open to the public?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The fact that this is an open hearing and a public hearing is a guarantee. If he wants to give up this guarantee, it's up to him. But the interest behind having a public hearing is that you have a guarantee that the proceedings are fair. And if he wants to give it up, we might look into that and let him get it.
QUESTION (through translator): Al-Annam (ph). And my question is: Would you allow non-Iraqi lawyers, Arabs or French, to come and defend Saddam Hussein? And are you going to ensure their security? And are you going to ensure the security of those victims of Saddam?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Regarding to allow foreign lawyers to defend Saddam, according to the law of the tribunal, he has the right to appoint legal counsel, but the Syndicate of Iraqi Lawyers say that foreign lawyers cannot practice in Iraq unless they are given an approval of the syndicate and the Lawyers Union.
The second question regarding the prime minister, regarding the security of the lawyers that come into Iraq, this is for the prime minister to answer.
QUESTION: Thank you. I'm Betty Pesik (ph) with "The Washington Times." Tell us, Mr. Justice Minister, if there are going to be foreign observers or participants or advisers in the process. And also, how long do you think this trial will take?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
ALLAWI: He says, yes, they are allowed to attend the courts.
Here.
QUESTION: Hi. Phoebe Walt (ph) from "TIME" magazine. Could you tell us both what your opinion is about reinstating the death penalty? Has this been actually discussed? Was it raised at all at today's cabinet meeting?
ALLAWI: We are still discussing those issues. We will tell you about it as soon as we finish discussing whatever we agree on. But I would like the questions, you know, I will allow two questions only, to be focused on Saddam and the rest of the people who will be attending the delivery tomorrow to the Iraqi authorities.
Over there.
QUESTION: Kelly Wright (ph), Fox News. By conducting this trial of Saddam Hussein, what would the new Iraq show to the world what kind of message will go out towards the world in trying him?
ALLAWI: Well, we will show that justice would prevail. Ultimately, regardless of how long it will take to be implemented, we would like to show the world also that the Iraqi government, the new Iraq government, means business and wants to do business and want to stabilize Iraq and put it on the route and road towards democracy and peace. We want to put this bad history behind us and to move with the spirit of national unity and reconciliation in the future.
QUESTION (through translator): Zana Barazman (ph). Would the tribunal allow for average people to file complaints with the tribunal and ask for compensation regarding the crimes that were committed by Saddam against them? Would you allow the average citizen to get in touch with this tribunal and allow the minister of justice to answer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have -- when I was an average citizen, I did file a complaint against Saddam Hussein. This is a right of every Iraqi citizen, but this tribunal cannot look into the issues of compensation. For that, we have special commissions, as the prime minister knows. We have a special commission to compensate for the property claims, and another commission for compensation, material compensation, like the victims of mass graves, those who were killed and were exiled and those whose tongues were cut off. Those can be compensated though another commission of compensation, and this commission will start work next.
ALLAWI (through translator): Thank you very much. We have to go.
NGUYEN: You've been listening to a live press conference from Baghdad with Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. He's been talking about Saddam Hussein, and says that Saddam and 11 aides will be transferred into Iraqi custody tomorrow, although U.S. forces will retain physical custody of Saddam until Iraq can securely detain him.
They also said that Saddam's trial will not happen for several months, but it will be a fair and just trial. And Allawi said that -- or is asking the Iraqis to be patient with this process.
Of course, we will continue to follow all of this.
You are watching CNN's DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired June 29, 2004 - 06:26 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we want to go to a press conference in Baghdad with Prime Minister Ayad al-Allawi. Let's listen to that.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Saddam Hussein, along with up to 11 other high-value detainees, will be transferred to the legal custody of Iraq tomorrow, and will be charged before an Iraqi investigative judge on the following day.
More than one million Iraqis are missing as the result of events that occurred in the former regime. Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis of all religious and ethnic groups are believed to be buried in mass graves.
Those we believe most responsible for Iraq's suffering will face Iraqi justice in the Iraqi Special Tribunal established in December to try former regime associates for crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. The trials in the Iraqi Special Tribunal will be conducted by Iraqi judges.
I know I speak for my fellow countrymen when I say I look forward to the day former regime leaders face justice, God willing.
At our request, the multinational forces will continue to maintain physical custody of them until Iraq's correction service is fully capable of providing for their safety and secure detention of the accused. And up to that date, the multinational force will keep those detainees and will transfer them over to Iraqi justice. The multinational force has agreed to this, and they will keep them for the Iraqis, but Iraq will keep the legal custody. This agreement has been formalized in a Memorandum of Understanding entered into by the Ministry of Justice and the multinational force.
And so, in the coming days, we will see the commencement of criminal proceedings against Saddam Hussein and others we believe were most responsible for crimes against the Iraqi people and others. And because we are for independent judiciary, the accused will appear in front of the Iraqi court, and they will be afforded rights that were denied by the former regime.
The accused will have the right to -- the accused will have access to legal counsel, and they will have the right to appoint legal counsel. And the accused will have access to legal counsel free of charge if they are unable to pay. The accused may not be compelled to testify against themselves and may remain silent. While the legal proceedings against some members of the former regime may begin soon, the judicial process will take some time. Justice will begin however, and the progress of these cases will be opened for all to see. The Iraqi Special Tribunal is continuing to organize its trial (UNINTELLIGIBLE) chambers while investigative judges are conducting investigations into the atrocities that may be brought before the tribunal.
We will likely not see the trial of Saddam begin for a number of months. I urge the Iraqi people to be patient, and justice will prevail. And thank you very much.
We'll take questions if you have them. The minister of justice is also here available.
QUESTION (through translator): Asure (ph) TV. First of all, I would like to congratulate you for the transfer of sovereignty. But lots of legal experts and especially the Arabs, they are now questioning the legitimacy of this government and to say that if the former regime elements of Saddam Hussein were to declare another government in exile, they have the right to do so. What is your opinion?
ALLAWI (through translator): What is your source? It was on the Internet, and this is the opinion of the Egyptian legal experts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Microphone please.
QUESTION (through translator): How will these proceedings take place? This is going to be -- some say that this is going to be political process more than a judicial process.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The proceedings are going to be -- this proceedings of this tribunal, are they going to be judicial or political? And that this will take shape through the way we're going to be dealing with the accused and the questioning of the accused. All of that will give you a clue if this is going to be a legal proceeding or a political proceeding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Microphone please. Microphone please.
QUESTION (through translator): Will Saddam -- is Saddam going to be prejudged, and is this going to be just a formality? If you don't have any evidence against him, how are you going to be sentencing Saddam?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is a logical question. If we do not have any evidence against Saddam, the tribunal is going to declare him innocent. But if we have sufficient evidence against him, then he's going to be indicted. This is the result of any trial.
QUESTION: Who are the other 11 top former regime elements who will be transferred? And the second question: When will the counsel of Saddam or somebody who could be appointed counsel have the access... ALLAWI: I'm sorry, sir. It's not clear. The second part of the question is not clear.
QUESTION: The second part, at what time will legal representatives have access to Mr. Saddam?
ALLAWI: His legal counsel, you mean?
QUESTION: Yes.
ALLAWI: No, we are now talking about the transfer to the Iraqi jurisdiction, and this will happen tomorrow or take place tomorrow. Once this takes place, and then, of course, he is entitled to appoint his lawyers. The rest of the suspects, the criminals suspected of crimes committed against the Iraqi people, we'll distribute the names later today.
Over there (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
QUESTION: Thank you. I'm Larry Cappalo (ph) with Cox (ph) newspapers.
Could you explain how you're positioned toward other detainees being held currently by the coalition forces? There are several groups. You could have regular criminals or people suspected of security crimes or others who were in the former regime. How do you expect to handle each of those groups?
ALLAWI: Now, we now are talking about a specific group of suspects. This other question will be deferred later, but now we are talking about Saddam and the 11 people. (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
QUESTION (through translator): Hali Massadi (ph) of Sabach (ph) newspaper.
Some of the former regime elements that committed crimes against these people were not pre-handed like Al-Douri. How are you going to try those? Are you going to be conducting some trials in absentia?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For sure. If we have evidence against them, they will be tried in absentia, for sure.
QUESTION (through translator): Al-Jomholian Apali (ph). Mr. Prime Minister, what are the procedures that your government is going to take to deal with the security situation? Are you going to declare a state of emergency or emergency law?
ALLAWI (through translator): I want questions to be related to this subject. We will talk and tell you about those procedures later, maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. We will tell you about those procedures that were adopted by the cabinet.
Behind you, blue shirt.
QUESTION: Sir, will Saddam have the right to represent himself in court? And if he does have that internationally recognized legal right, then how will you prevent him from behaving like Milosevic did in the early days of his trial and indeed now, which has gone on for about two years and has no end in sight, and caused at the time a degree of unrest in Serbia?
ALLAWI: No, Saddam will be entitled to have representation. He is entitled to appoint lawyers. And maybe if he doesn't have money to appoint lawyers, the government will pay the money so he is represented well. We assure you that this will be a just trial and a fair trial, unlike the trials that he inflicted on his enemies and on the Iraqi people.
QUESTION: I'm sorry, sir. That's not what I asked. Will he be able to represent himself if he so chooses without an attorney?
ALLAWI: He can represent himself, yes.
QUESTION: Lindsay Hillson (ph), Channel 4 News. Is there a danger that Saddam Hussein could use the opportunity of appearing in court for propaganda in order to plead his own cause and gather more followers? And what would you do about that?
ALLAWI: Well, this is really a theoretical question. The courts will be just courts. There will be definitely proof and evidence. And it will be a full legal proceeding. We don't think that he will be able to stage a propaganda coup, but it will be an open trial. It will be in open court. And he is entitled to any representation.
QUESTION (through translator): Egyptian Nirist (ph) Agency. The Americans gave a status of POW status to Saddam Hussein. Are you going to lift the status on him once you take over his custody?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): His status is not of interest to us. That status that was given to him when he was arrested by the coalition forces is not of interest to us. What is of interest to us is the status under which we take custody of him. He is accused of crimes that he has committed in Iraq, and he's an accused that is facing accusation, and he does not have any privileges under the POW status of Geneva conventions.
QUESTION (through translator): Dr. Ayad Allawi, you have said that this is going to be an open hearing. What if Saddam asks the tribunal for this proceeding to be open to the public?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The fact that this is an open hearing and a public hearing is a guarantee. If he wants to give up this guarantee, it's up to him. But the interest behind having a public hearing is that you have a guarantee that the proceedings are fair. And if he wants to give it up, we might look into that and let him get it.
QUESTION (through translator): Al-Annam (ph). And my question is: Would you allow non-Iraqi lawyers, Arabs or French, to come and defend Saddam Hussein? And are you going to ensure their security? And are you going to ensure the security of those victims of Saddam?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Regarding to allow foreign lawyers to defend Saddam, according to the law of the tribunal, he has the right to appoint legal counsel, but the Syndicate of Iraqi Lawyers say that foreign lawyers cannot practice in Iraq unless they are given an approval of the syndicate and the Lawyers Union.
The second question regarding the prime minister, regarding the security of the lawyers that come into Iraq, this is for the prime minister to answer.
QUESTION: Thank you. I'm Betty Pesik (ph) with "The Washington Times." Tell us, Mr. Justice Minister, if there are going to be foreign observers or participants or advisers in the process. And also, how long do you think this trial will take?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
ALLAWI: He says, yes, they are allowed to attend the courts.
Here.
QUESTION: Hi. Phoebe Walt (ph) from "TIME" magazine. Could you tell us both what your opinion is about reinstating the death penalty? Has this been actually discussed? Was it raised at all at today's cabinet meeting?
ALLAWI: We are still discussing those issues. We will tell you about it as soon as we finish discussing whatever we agree on. But I would like the questions, you know, I will allow two questions only, to be focused on Saddam and the rest of the people who will be attending the delivery tomorrow to the Iraqi authorities.
Over there.
QUESTION: Kelly Wright (ph), Fox News. By conducting this trial of Saddam Hussein, what would the new Iraq show to the world what kind of message will go out towards the world in trying him?
ALLAWI: Well, we will show that justice would prevail. Ultimately, regardless of how long it will take to be implemented, we would like to show the world also that the Iraqi government, the new Iraq government, means business and wants to do business and want to stabilize Iraq and put it on the route and road towards democracy and peace. We want to put this bad history behind us and to move with the spirit of national unity and reconciliation in the future.
QUESTION (through translator): Zana Barazman (ph). Would the tribunal allow for average people to file complaints with the tribunal and ask for compensation regarding the crimes that were committed by Saddam against them? Would you allow the average citizen to get in touch with this tribunal and allow the minister of justice to answer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have -- when I was an average citizen, I did file a complaint against Saddam Hussein. This is a right of every Iraqi citizen, but this tribunal cannot look into the issues of compensation. For that, we have special commissions, as the prime minister knows. We have a special commission to compensate for the property claims, and another commission for compensation, material compensation, like the victims of mass graves, those who were killed and were exiled and those whose tongues were cut off. Those can be compensated though another commission of compensation, and this commission will start work next.
ALLAWI (through translator): Thank you very much. We have to go.
NGUYEN: You've been listening to a live press conference from Baghdad with Prime Minister Ayad Allawi. He's been talking about Saddam Hussein, and says that Saddam and 11 aides will be transferred into Iraqi custody tomorrow, although U.S. forces will retain physical custody of Saddam until Iraq can securely detain him.
They also said that Saddam's trial will not happen for several months, but it will be a fair and just trial. And Allawi said that -- or is asking the Iraqis to be patient with this process.
Of course, we will continue to follow all of this.
You are watching CNN's DAYBREAK.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
