FRANK DEVINE
The man clearly and calmly in charge is the chief judge, Rizgar Mohammed Amin, a 47-year-old Kurd and the only member of a panel of five judges to allow his name to be made public and to appear on TV.
When, at the start of the trial, Saddam refused to give his name, the judge declared: "You are Saddam Hussein, former president of Iraq, and I think you know who I am." He ignored Saddam's instruction to identify himself formally. When Saddam absented himself from a session, Rizgar continued the hearing without him. When defence lawyers threatened to quit, he said he would appoint new ones.
Rizgar's deceptively mild manner has caused some to consider him too soft. But in an interview before the trial, he remarked: "One of the tasks of a judge is to preserve patience and good manners. Rudeness would be incompatible with the neutrality and esteem of the tribunal."
Are we hearing the voice of the new Iraq?
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