Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 5, 1993 TAG: 9306050369
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: KUWAIT LENGTH: Medium
"As far as we know, they haven't been seen by lawyers . . . and the investigations were done without legal counsel present," said Aziz Abu-Hamad, associate director of Middle East Watch, based in New York.
Kuwaiti law entitles a prisoner to have a lawyer present during investigations, he said.
The trial in the no-jury State Security Court is scheduled to begin today.
The case has evoked strong emotions since many Kuwaitis revere Bush for leading the 33-nation coalition that drove Iraq from the emirate in Feburary 1991. Newspapers already have branded the defendants Iraqi agents.
Kuwaiti authorities arrested the suspects April 13, a day before Bush and his entourage arrived for a three-day visit to receive the thanks of a grateful nation. The men have confessed to planning to assassinate Bush, Kuwait says.
Security authorites say Iraq's intelligence service organized the alleged plot. Baghdad has accused the United States of fabricating the conspiracy as an excuse to attack Iraq.
The White House has said it will consider military action against Iraq if Baghdad was involved in an attempt on Bush's life. A team of FBI and Secret Service agents who interviewed the suspects said they were sent by Iraq.
Four of seven Kuwaiti lawyers appointed to defend the suspects refused to take the cases, saying they had moral qualms about representing men they considered enemies or had other commitments. It was not clear whether the court had found replacements.
Abu-Hamad told The Associated Press he was afraid some of the court-appointed attorneys would not be impartial.
Abu-Hamad said Middle East Watch had suggested that Arab lawyers from other countries defend the suspects to ensure a fair trial, but Kuwait refused.
Security authorities say 10 of the defendants crossed from Iraq with an explosives-laden car that was to be blown up near the building where Bush was to receive an honorary degree.
If that failed, one of the men was to strap explosives to his body and blow himself up when he got close to Bush, authorities said.
Twelve of the suspects, including a Kuwaiti and an Iraqi who lived in the emirate, face death by hanging if convicted. Two Kuwaitis who hid the alleged hit men face five years in prison if found guilty.
by CNB