![Saddam lawyer presses to move trial out of Iraq](https://www.jurist.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/jurist-white-text.png)
[JURIST] Giovanni di Stefano [Wikipedia profile], a lawyer for Saddam Hussein, said once again [JURIST report] Monday that the insurgency in Iraq has created an unsafe environment for the trial of the former dictator and that the venue should be changed to a more stable country. Di Stefano argued that because some in Iraq feel strongly that Saddam should be executed while others are, as he put it, just as strongly calling for him to regain control of the country, "defense and prosecution would both be in danger there." Though di Stefano claims Saddam's defense team has made contact with the Swedish government about possibly holding the trial in Sweden, Swedish Ministry of Justice [official website] spokesman Alexander Valentin said that he was unaware of any official request. Raed Juhi, the tribunal's top investigating judge, said Sunday [JURIST report] that a trial date for Hussein would be set in the next few days. AP has more.