Untitled Document
BAGHDAD - Top Saddam Hussein lieutenant Tariq Aziz will not testify against ousted
dictator in any criminal trial, Aziz’s lawyer said on Tuesday.
“I will not betray my honour and my conscience and testify against Saddam
Hussein,” Aziz said in a statement read to The Associated Press by his
lawyer, Badee Izzat Aref.
Aziz, a former foreign minister and deputy foreign minister, relayed the message
in English and Arabic, Aref said.
Aziz remains in US custody and is also facing charges for his role in Saddam’s
regime. Aref said he meets with his client twice a week.
An investigative judge on the Iraqi Special Tribunal, Munir Haddad, said earlier
this week he expects that Saddam’s first trial will begin “within
45 to 50 days.”
