A lawyer for one of Saddam Hussein’s co-defendants was kidnapped yesterday, a day after he sat in the dock next to the former president on the opening day of their trial for crimes against humanity.
His client is former judge Jawad al-Bander, a senior legal source involved in the trial said. "Saadoun Janabi was kidnapped this evening around 8.30 from his office, which is also his home, in the Shaab district by eight armed men," the source said.
Police and interior ministry sources confirmed the kidnapping. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Eight men arrived in two cars and forced Mr Bander from his office at gunpoint, the police sources said.
Bander is a former top judge under Saddam who is charged, along with the ex president and six others, over the killings and executions of 148 Shia men from Dujail village after Saddam escaped an assassination attempt there in 1982.
The defendants won a 40-day adjournment to November 28th to hone their defence after they all pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.
It was not clear whether the kidnapping would affect that or lead to further calls for adjournment.
It may add to complaints that Iraq’s appalling security, with a low intensity civil war raging between Saddam’s once dominant Sunni Arab minority and the Shia-led, US-backed government, is a poor environment in which to hold a fair trial.