![Saddam lawyer asks for trial delay after killing of tribunal judge](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] Saddam Hussein chief lawyer Ziad al-Khasawneh said Thursday that the upcoming trial of his client should be delayed in the wake of the murder this week of a judge appointed to the Iraqi tribunal charged with hearing the case against the former dictator. Al-Khasawneh insisted that Iraq was still too dangerous for the trial and called for proceedings to be put off by at least another year. On Tuesday, three gunmen killed Judge Barwez Mohammed Mahmoud al-Merwani [JURIST report] outside his Baghdad home. AP has more. Meanwhile, a group of 19 Iraqi judges have began rehearsing for the various trials against the former leaders of Iraq's toppled regime in a hotel in London. The International Bar Association [official website] has designed a mock trial to replicate the circumstances the judges may face during sessions of the Iraqi Special Tribunal [JURIST Hot Topic news archive]. The effort, funded by the British and American governments, is the final part of a week-long training effort before the start of trials. Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim al-Hassan al-Tikriti, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan [Wikipedia profile] and three others, who face charges of crimes against humanity, are scheduled to go to trial first. AFP has more.