[JURIST] Saddam Hussein's chief lawyer said Thursday that he was threatened by three men when boarding a flight from Baghdad to Jordan, and that the three individuals were escorted from the plane by security personnel. Khalil Dulaimi said he knows the men but will not reveal their names and did not indicate exactly how he was threatened. Former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark [Wikipedia profile], also on Hussein's defense team [JURIST report], said that other defense lawyers had received threats this week from the balcony of the courtroom where the Saddam Hussein trial [JURIST news archive] is being held. During the sessions, the judge ordered the removal of one man from the balcony after he made gestures seen as threats toward the defense. Lawyers for Hussein and his co-defendants have repeatedly raised concerns about their safety and earlier this week, walked out of trial proceedings [JURIST report] until they were allowed to address the court on the issue. Two defense lawyers have been killed [JURIST report] since the trial first began in October, and a third has fled Iraq, seeking asylum in Qatar [JURIST report]. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Iraqi Special Tribunal | Op-ed: The Reckoning: Trying Saddam Hussein | Text: Saddam tribunal report [HRW]