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Official: Hussein trial's chief judge wants lesser role

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BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's war crimes trial plans to hand in his resignation as presiding judge on Sunday morning, a high-ranking Iraqi High Tribunal official told CNN.

Rizgar Amin wants to remain a judge with the tribunal, according to the official, who did not say why Amin wants to step down as presiding judge.

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a member of the defense team, has criticized the lack of protection for the Iraqi attorneys and their families.

Since the trial began in October, two defense attorneys were killed.

Amin's own security has been compromised -- he is the only judge whose name has been revealed. He has appeared on video of the proceedings in spite of the security risk.

By contrast, trial participants have refused to show their faces on video, fearing retribution attacks by Saddam loyalists.

Whether the the high tribunal will accept -- or reject -- the request is not clear. The official said Amin has informed the tribunal of his decision.

The tribunal plans to study the letter before making the decision.

Amin included in his letter an offer to stay on as chief judge through January 24, a week from Tuesday, the official said.

The proceedings have not always gone smoothly. The combative Hussein has often interrupted it with outbursts, heated exchanges and posturing, causing observers in Iraq and across the globe to conclude he and his cohorts have too much free rein in the court.

Hussein and seven co-defendants face charges over the killings of more than 140 males in Dujail in 1982. The killings occurred after an assassination attempt on Hussein, Iraq's leader at the time.

Other developments

  • Violence struck Baghdad Saturday with the assassination of a Shiite imam; a roadside bomb that struck a police patrol, leaving 10 people wounded; and the discovery of three bodies in a drainage canal, police told CNN.

  • A Marine died in the Iraqi city of Ramadi of wounds received in combat Friday, the U.S. military said. The Marine was assigned to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). The death brings the number of U.S. troop deaths in the Iraq war to 2,215.

    • CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

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