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Iraqi officials were trying to persuade the chief judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein not to resign yesterday after he announced he would quit in protest at government interference with the court.

"The government has sent a delegation to see him because they are afraid of the damage this will do to the credibility of the tribunal," one of the prosecutors in the trial, Mumkidh Taklif al-Fatlawi, said.

The killings of two defence lawyers have already prompted questions over the US-backed decision to hold the trial in the midst of bitter sectarian and ethnic conflict.

A source close to Kurdish judge Rizgar Amin himself said tribunal officials were trying to talk him out of his decision but he was reluctant to stay on because Shi'ite leaders had criticized him for being "soft" on Saddam in court.

"He tendered his resignation to the court a few days ago but the court rejected it. Now talks are under way to convince him to go back on his decision," he said on Saturday. "He's under a lot of pressure, the whole court is under political pressure.

"I am not sure if he will go back on his decision," said the source, who is familiar with Amin's thinking. "He had complaints from the government that he was being too soft in dealing with Saddam. They want things to go faster."

The last straw, the source said, was a letter criticizing his handling of the trial from radical Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr, whose movement is part of the ruling Islamist bloc.

The judge planned to explain his reasons for resigning after chairing the next hearing on January 24, the source said.

Technically the departure of the presiding magistrate on the five-judge panel can be overcome by appointing a substitute. But even if he stays, the complaints about government interference from Amin, the much-televized face of the court, may do lasting damage to the credibility of the US-sponsored High Tribunal.

Only one other judge has allowed his face to be shown on television and only Amin has let his name be published.

The killing of two defence lawyers had already highlighted problems with the process amid a virtual civil war between Saddam's fellow minority Sunni Arabs and the US-sponsored government, run by Shi'ite Muslims and ethnic Kurds intent on quickly hanging a man they say massacred their peoples.

Pressure increasing on tribunal

International human rights lawyers have urged US officials and the new Iraqi Government to send Saddam and his aides to an international court abroad while the defence has branded the proceedings "victor's justice" imposed under US occupation.

"The defence team has long warned about the dangers of political pressure that has undermined the court's independence and integrity," Saddam's chief attorney, Khalil Dulaimi, said, praising the "high moral authority" of the presiding judge. "We expect the political pressures to mount," he said.

Miranda Sissons, who has observed the trial for the New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice, said that if Amin quit it would signal that political pressure on the tribunal has had an effect."

In the first trial, which has sat for seven days since October 19 and is due to resume on January 24, Saddam and seven others are charged with crimes against humanity in the deaths of over 140 Shi'ite men after an assassination attempt on Saddam in 1982.

After hearings last month, some observers criticized Amin for allowing Saddam and his co-defendants to speak at length, making allegations, including of maltreatment at American hands.

(China Daily January 16, 2006)