By Gina Chon
A trial that is seen as a key test of rule of law in Iraq was delayed until March 2 because witnesses didn’t turn up at the heavily guarded Central Criminal Court in Baghdad. Former Deputy Health Minister Hakim Abbas al-Zamili and Brigadier General Hameed al-Shimmari, who allegedly have ties to the Shiite militia group the Mahdi Army, are accused of using the Health Ministry to kidnap and murder Sunnis.
The alleged kidnappings and murders took place from late 2005 until the two were arrested in early 2007. There are 10 victims in the cases against the two former Health Ministry officials, but authorities estimate that the actual number of victims could number in the hundreds. They say that ambulances, hospitals and medical records were used to carry out the alleged crimes. But a defense attorney said the charges are politically motivated.
It’s taken a year for the trial to begin, reflecting the difficulties in bringing such a case to court. The leader of the Mahdi Army, Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has been an ally of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is also a Shiite. A U.S. Judge Advocate General official said there have been attempts to intimidate seven of the nine prosecution witnesses and the investigative judge has also been threatened. Security at the court was tight, with journalists escorted to the venue under armed convoy.
Iraq is struggling to rebuild its court system, but corruption, intimidation and lagging security are slowing down the process. Also, many judges and attorneys have left Iraq as part of a general brain drain from the country.
Judge Abdul Sattar Bayrkdar, a spokesman for the Iraqi Higher Judicial Council, told journalists today that the delay was not a setback for the case but represented a procedural issue. When asked whether the trial would actually move forward in the future, the JAG official used a commonly heard phrase here, “Insha’allah,” meaning God willing.