Saddam trial sparks Arab ambivalence

By Magdi Abdelhadi
BBC Arab affairs analyst

Saddam Hussein is not the only one to question the validity of the court

Arab leaders have been toppled before, but none have ever been put on trial.

It was an unprecedented sight: an Iraqi prosecutor standing face-to-face with the country's most feared ruler in modern times.

Saddam Hussein showed no emotions - and at one point there was a wry smile on his face as the prosecutor read out details of the indictment.

For the majority in Iraq, this is the day they have been waiting for.

But for many in the Arab world, the scene of Saddam Hussein in the dock will provoke ambivalent feelings.

Some say he was overthrown by an illegal invasion, and that is how they regard the trial too.

The words of his daughter, Raghad, sum up what large sectors of Arab public opinion feel.

"This farce has already been judged by the people," she told an Arab satellite channel.

"I could not be happier. How could I otherwise be when I am the daughter of a brave father, a lion. I swear he is a lion."

Long shadow

But "lion" is not exactly the word many Arabs would use today to describe Saddam Hussein, particularly after seeing him pulled out of a hole in the ground by American soldiers nearly two years ago.

For them, Saddam Hussein may deserve to be put on trial for the brutal oppression of his own people.

But to them the fact that he was overthrown by an invading army, not Iraqis, will continue to cast a long shadow over the credibility of the trial.