Baghdad: Two defendants in the trial of Saddam Hussein made their closing arguments on Tuesday, but the judge then adjourned for nearly two weeks in an attempt to resolve a boycott of the court by the former Iraqi leader and his lawyers.
Chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman said the court would resume on July 24 and warned that if the lawyers did not agree to return by that time, court-appointed lawyers would make the final arguments for Saddam and three other top defendants in the case.
''The absence of the original lawyers to defend the defendant will harm the client's case,'' Abdel-Rahman said, then added, addressing the lawyers who were present, ''Tell your colleagues ... that court-appointed lawyers will present the closing arguments if they do not attend.''
It was not clear if the long adjournment will mean a delay in the issuing of verdicts in the 9-month-old trial, which court officials had predicted would take place in mid-August.
The court had been expected to hear the closing arguments for all eight defendants one by one this week and the next before the judges adjourn to deliberate.
But lawyers for Saddam, Barzan Ibrahim, Taha Yassin Ramadan and Awad al-Bandar announced Monday they were boycotting the final phase of the trial unless a list of demands were met, including greater security after the slaying of one of their colleagues last month.
Saddam also said he was boycotting, denouncing the court as unfair and a tool of the Americans.
On Monday, Abdel-Rahman dismissed the defense demands, saying some of them were illegal and some were not in the court's purview.
Court spokesman Raid Juhi said on Tuesday that the court would not negotiate with the defense and that the recess aimed only to give the defense time to change its mind. ''There won't be any attempts on the part of the court,'' he told The Associated Press.
''The lawyers' duty is to defend their clients. But at the same time, we are committed to going ahead with proceedings.''
He said the two-week recess would give court-appointed lawyers time to prepare their closing arguments for Saddam if necessary.
Saddam and seven former members of his regime are charged over a crackdown against Shiites in the town of Dujail launched after a 1982 assassination attempt against the then-Iraqi leader.
They are accused of arresting hundreds of people, torturing women and children and killing 148 people sentenced to death for the attack on the former Iraqi leader.
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