JAG CENTRAL

Hussein Trial's Defense Team, Under Attack Again (NYTimes.com)

From the NY Times, Ambush of Defense Lawyers in Hussein Trial Kills One:

Gunmen ambushed two of the defense lawyers in the Saddam Hussein trial on a Baghdad street on Tuesday, killing one and seriously wounding the other. Coming after another defense lawyer was killed on Oct. 20, the latest attack brought immediate demands from other lawyers in the case for the trial to be halted and moved to a location outside Iraq.

An Interior Ministry official said the drive-by shooting in a western suburb of Baghdad had killed one of two lawyers who represented Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president under Mr. Hussein, and Barzan al-Tikriti, Mr. Hussein's half-brother and former head of the secret police. Both men are defendants with Mr. Hussein in the first trial to be held for the mass killings under his rule.

The trial opened briefly in Baghdad three weeks ago and quickly adjourned. It is set to resume Nov. 28.

Also from the Times, U.N. Extends Mandate in Iraq for U.S. Troops ("The Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a one-year renewal of the United Nations mandate for the United States-led multinational force in Iraq. The resolution, sponsored by Britain, Denmark, Japan, Romania and the United States, extends the mandate until Dec. 31, 2006, but calls for a review of the decision by June 15 and allows for the ending of the mandate at any point if Iraq requests it.").

From the Washington Post, Pair of Attorneys in Hussein Trial Shot in Ambush, and Defense Document Bans Detainee Torture:

Pentagon officials released a new directive yesterday on Defense Department intelligence interrogations, mandating that all questioning of detainees in U.S. military custody include "humane" treatment and banning "acts of physical or mental torture."

The eight-page document for the first time pulls together a number of departmental policies on interrogations and the prevention of detainee mistreatment, exemplified by the Abu Ghraib prison abuse in late 2003. The directive largely sets out how future policies will be developed, emphasizes proper treatment and lays out requirements for reporting violations as they occur.

You can access the new DoD Directive 3115.09 here.

From USA Today, Another Lawyer on Saddam's Defense Team Killed, and Pentagon Interrogation Rules Allow Exceptions:

A new Pentagon policy governing the interrogation of prisoners allows for exceptions if authorized in writing by top Defense Department officials.

The new directive, signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England last week, formalizes many rules created since U.S. troops' abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad was revealed in April 2004.

Elisa Massimino, Washington director for Human Rights First, a group that has lobbied for stricter limits on interrogations after Abu Ghraib, says the exceptions could lead to abuses: “This is what got us into problems in the first place.”

Massimino described the exceptions as similar to one that Vice President Cheney has advocated for CIA personnel interrogating prisoners in the war on terrorism.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has backed legislation to bar torture during interrogations, said there should be no loopholes allowing questionable methods.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, however, said the provision for exceptions doesn't amount to a loophole in the policy, which “reiterates humane treatment” for all prisoners in military custody.

The overall policy directive establishes new restrictions on U.S. military and civilian personnel who interrogate prisoners:

•All physical and mental torture is prohibited.

•The use of guard dogs — which were used at Abu Ghraib to intimidate prisoners — is banned during interrogations.

•Interrogations will be conducted only by trained and certified interrogators, and all suspected abuses will be reported by medical personnel and others up the chain of command. Prison guards are also barred from participating in interrogations.

•Any other U.S. government agencies or foreign government representatives who ask to interrogate prisoners held by the Defense Department must agree to abide by Pentagon policies before being granted access to them.