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Testimonies
Judgment on Genocide – Kelly Dawson
I was one of two Canadian defence lawyers invited to act in “defence” of President Bashir of the Sudan at an “International Citizen’s Tribunal” held in New York city on November 13, 2006. The well-organized event was sponsored by Genocide Watch and a coalition of like organizations, and was designed to publicly highlight the ongoing violence and alleged acts of genocide and war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan. While the mock trial event clearly had a particular outcome in mind, the organizers should be credited with also wishing to highlight some of the processes involved in international criminal law and the importance of due process, including the role of the defence. It demonstrated the difficulties of eliciting emotional evidence through translators (all witnesses were actual victims of the violence in Darfur), the fact that hearsay is heavily relied upon in international tribunals, but also some of the inherent dangers to a fair trial in doing so.
Our courtroom was directly across from the United Nations building, which provided a dramatic backdrop for the proceedings. The event room was packed, with members of most wire services and several major newspapers present. The entire trial was professionally filmed and will be distributed in some fashion to the public.
We received several interesting comments from a number of observers, reporters and participants at the conclusion of the trial. These comments all had a similar thread: that while they were initially surprised that the organizers had “bothered” with defence lawyers, they ended up impressed by the impact simple cross examination and argument could have (as we were provided with no defence witnesses) in altering initial impressions about the strength of the prosecution’s case. A reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote of the defence efforts:
Two Canadian defense lawyers assigned to represent Bashir’s interest staged a feisty defense. While the witnesses - some of whom testified anonymously, fearing retribution - clearly had witnessed some horrible deeds, the evidence, often mingled with hearsay, simply did not support a finding of direct liability by Bashir, the defense lawyers argued.
I believe the participation of two of this organization’s members on behalf of the defence succeed in demonstrating the absolute imperative of ensuring a full and robust defence for all accused persons, regardless of the horror of the alleged crimes involved.
Kelly Dawson
Barrister
Edmonton, Alberta
Judgment on Genocide – G. Garry MacDonald
As members of ICDAA Kelly Dawson and I were chosen to provide a “vigorous defence” for Omar el- Bashir the President of Sudan (in absentia) for genocide and other war crimes in Darfur.
We were provided with a 19-page 64-count indictment as well as considerable background on the history and ongoing events in Sudan. The “trial” – Citizens Tribunal – took place in November at the Churches complex at the United Nations in New York.
It became obvious in preparations weeks before the hearing that the conveners did not really want a “vigorous defence”. Nevertheless it was a fascinating experience. We were provided (electronically) with witness statements and were required to respond with our cross-examination as well as our opening and closing statements. The trial schedule – compressed into one day and designed to accommodate various media deadlines – was changed not only daily but sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. The time allotted for both sides of the case was pruned daily. E.g. five minutes for cross examination of the occurrence witnesses, a little more for the ‘experts’.
We were flown in on Saturday for the Monday trial. Kelly got stuck with spending many hours at a television studio with one of the prosecutors editing a video deposition. I spent Saturday and Sunday sitting in on witness preparation. The witnesses (Darfurian refugees) were quite nervous as there had been death threats from Sudan. Additionally the President of Afghanistan was at the UN and we were warned not to go onto any balconies because there were sharpshooters watching for potential assassins. After a number of logistical snags, the Tribunal went well.
Kelly and I received much praise for our efforts, even though the outcome was predetermined. We were treated well by all participants including the very distinguished panel of judges. There was a good deal of international media coverage including the BBC World Service and a renegade Chinese news/documentary service broadcast worldwide.
Most rewarding was learning of the respect in the international community for Canadian lawyers. Two of the prosecutors were also Canadian.
For more information on the Tribunal, visit their website at www.judgmentongenocide.com
G. Garry MacDonald
Barrister
Langley, British-Columbia