[JURIST] Despite last week's murder of a defense lawyer [JURIST report] involved in the proceedings, Baghdad is still a safe place to hold the trial of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] and his seven co-defendants, President Bush said Monday in an interview [transcript] with Al-Arabiya television. Bush dismissed calls for an international trial and stressed the importance of the trial to Iraqis, saying "it's very important for the Iraqis to have a justice system that earns the confidence of the people. This is a new democracy, and part of a democracy is to have a fair judicial system." When asked to comment on Hussein's court appearance, Bush replied, "The key thing is that there will be a fair trial, which is something he didn't give many of the thousand people he killed." AP has more.