Saddam Hussein's Lawyer Assassinated
June 22nd 2006 06:32
His name is Khamis Al-Obeidi. He was the senior lawyer defending former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity. Now, this father of six is dead. He was allegedly assassinated by Shi'ite militia in Sadr City on Wednesday 21st June 2006. According to various news reports, he was abducted from his home in Baghdad by men dressed in police uniforms before being repeatedly shot and left to die. Al-Obeidi is the third person from Saddam’s defence team to be killed since the trial began in October last year.
I think what shocks me most about this story is the number of people I have heard speak positively of the deaths. It seems that some people believe that if you are going to be defending one of the world’s most hated men, then you should expect to be hated too. I guess this is a huge problem that all defence lawyers face. Not just those who defend former Iraqi dictators, but also those who defend murderers, rapists, paedophiles and other unpopular clients.
It seems that the public simply do not understand how lawyers can act for such people. Is it for the money? The publicity? Is it that lawyers are all tragically born without morals?
Or, is it that lawyers do in fact have morals manifested in their recognition of everyone’s right to a fair trial and in their decisions to defend those characters who are so hated by the rest of society?
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that all lawyers are saints. No doubt, there are those who are greedy, immoral dickheads. But I also think that sometimes the public forgets that by defending unpopular clients, lawyers are not necessarily trying to get them off the hook. What they are trying to do is to ensure that these people are given a fair sentence.
Indeed, defence lawyers such as Al-Obeidi, have one of the most difficult jobs in the world. The fact that they can carry out their tasks with all the criticism, threats of danger and actual violence that comes along with it, is in itself quite incredible.
The image used in this post is from Wikimedia Commons and is a work of the US Federal Government Department of Defense. As such, the picture is in the public domain.
Saddam Hussein
I think what shocks me most about this story is the number of people I have heard speak positively of the deaths. It seems that some people believe that if you are going to be defending one of the world’s most hated men, then you should expect to be hated too. I guess this is a huge problem that all defence lawyers face. Not just those who defend former Iraqi dictators, but also those who defend murderers, rapists, paedophiles and other unpopular clients.
It seems that the public simply do not understand how lawyers can act for such people. Is it for the money? The publicity? Is it that lawyers are all tragically born without morals?
Or, is it that lawyers do in fact have morals manifested in their recognition of everyone’s right to a fair trial and in their decisions to defend those characters who are so hated by the rest of society?
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that all lawyers are saints. No doubt, there are those who are greedy, immoral dickheads. But I also think that sometimes the public forgets that by defending unpopular clients, lawyers are not necessarily trying to get them off the hook. What they are trying to do is to ensure that these people are given a fair sentence.
Indeed, defence lawyers such as Al-Obeidi, have one of the most difficult jobs in the world. The fact that they can carry out their tasks with all the criticism, threats of danger and actual violence that comes along with it, is in itself quite incredible.
The image used in this post is from Wikimedia Commons and is a work of the US Federal Government Department of Defense. As such, the picture is in the public domain.
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