In a December 28th article in a London-based Arabic newspaper, the writer asked, “Do such (pro-Saddam) Arabs belong to a nation that loves executioners? Is there a light at the end of this dark tunnel and any chance that these people will return to their senses, respect human rights and fight oppression and dictatorship?”
The A-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist was referring to the many manifestations of pro-Saddam sentiment in the Arab world. In particular, the author cited the hundreds of offers made by Arab lawyers to defend deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a pro-Saddam rally in Jordan, and an Arab writers’ association that barred a delegation of Iraqi writers from a recent conference because they had come to the conference “on board a military tank” with the help of the occupying powers in Iraq. Also cited was a statement issued by “some Jordanian parties” referring to Saddam as Iraq’s “legitimate ruler.”
Regarding the Arab lawyers’ offer to represent Saddam, the columnist, Ahmad Rabhi, wrote, “Why didn’t the Arab Lawyers Association call for a fair trial to Barghouti as they have done for Saddam?” In contrast to many of his brethren in the Middle East, Rahbi said the Saddam regime was “based on concentration camps, mass graves and forced self-exile to millions of Iraqis,” and he called on fellow Arabs to condemn it.
In his A-Sharq Al-Awsat article, Rahbi widened his range and called for the fall of all Arab idols and for the Arabs to “stop their cult of the individual to turn their attention instead to their own countries and problems.”
Another London-based Arabic newspaper, Al-Hayat, had a different sort of criticism for the Arab lawyers who offered to defend Hussein. In a December 30th column, it was argued that by offering their services pro bono, the lawyers gave the impression they condoned Saddam Hussein’s conduct during the years he was in power.
The columnist, Abdullah Iskandar, wrote that a lawyer should keep his politics out of his professional work. Otherwise, he continued, “the lawyer loses his integrity, which is essential to his profession. A lawyer’s job is to represent his client in a court of law, not to hold political opinions and defend them.” Therefore, Iskandar condemned the motives of the hundreds of Arab lawyers who volunteered their services to Saddam Hussein, while at the same time praising a French lawyer, Jacques Verges, who offered his services to Hussein and his cohorts for a fee.
The A-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist was referring to the many manifestations of pro-Saddam sentiment in the Arab world. In particular, the author cited the hundreds of offers made by Arab lawyers to defend deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, a pro-Saddam rally in Jordan, and an Arab writers’ association that barred a delegation of Iraqi writers from a recent conference because they had come to the conference “on board a military tank” with the help of the occupying powers in Iraq. Also cited was a statement issued by “some Jordanian parties” referring to Saddam as Iraq’s “legitimate ruler.”
Regarding the Arab lawyers’ offer to represent Saddam, the columnist, Ahmad Rabhi, wrote, “Why didn’t the Arab Lawyers Association call for a fair trial to Barghouti as they have done for Saddam?” In contrast to many of his brethren in the Middle East, Rahbi said the Saddam regime was “based on concentration camps, mass graves and forced self-exile to millions of Iraqis,” and he called on fellow Arabs to condemn it.
In his A-Sharq Al-Awsat article, Rahbi widened his range and called for the fall of all Arab idols and for the Arabs to “stop their cult of the individual to turn their attention instead to their own countries and problems.”
Another London-based Arabic newspaper, Al-Hayat, had a different sort of criticism for the Arab lawyers who offered to defend Hussein. In a December 30th column, it was argued that by offering their services pro bono, the lawyers gave the impression they condoned Saddam Hussein’s conduct during the years he was in power.
The columnist, Abdullah Iskandar, wrote that a lawyer should keep his politics out of his professional work. Otherwise, he continued, “the lawyer loses his integrity, which is essential to his profession. A lawyer’s job is to represent his client in a court of law, not to hold political opinions and defend them.” Therefore, Iskandar condemned the motives of the hundreds of Arab lawyers who volunteered their services to Saddam Hussein, while at the same time praising a French lawyer, Jacques Verges, who offered his services to Hussein and his cohorts for a fee.