Gunmen have killed another lawyer in the Saddam Hussein trial in Iraq. Adel al-Zubeidi was shot by an armed gang in a speeding car in the Adil neighborhood of Baghdad. He was representing former Iraqi vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan. Mr. Ramadan is one of eight people on trial in the high-profile crimes against humanity case. Saddam’s lawyer blamed the Iraqi government for the killing. He said “an armed group using government vehicles” was used in the attack. He also said the protection given to Saddam’s legal team was not good enough.

Mr. Zubeidi is the second defence lawyer in the trial to be murdered in the past month. In late October, Iraqi police found the body of Saadoun al-Janabi. He had been representing one of Saddam’s friends who was on trial for murder and torture in the 1982 massacre of Iraqis in Baghdad. After Mr. Janabi’s murder, several members of the defence team said they would not appear in court until they got better security. However, the lawyers refused protection from the Iraqi government, which they say is under the control of the US Army. Prosecutors and judges in the trial have been given heavy security.

WARM-UPS

1. I’M A LAWYER: You are now a lawyer. Walk around the class and talk to the other “lawyers”. Ask them their reasons why they are lawyers. What cases are they currently fighting? Have they been involved in any high-profile trials? Would they like to defend Saddam Hussein? What kind of lifestyle do they have?

2. DANGEROUS JOBS: Look at the following jobs. Talk with your partner(s) about the dangers involved in each job. Which are the three safest ones and three most dangerous ones? If you had to choose, which one would you do?

Saddam Hussein’s lawyer	Avian bird flu researcher
George W. Bush’s bodyguard	Mafia boss
North Korean opposition leader	Landmine clearance worker
US soldier in Iraq	War reporter

3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

Gunmen / lawyers / Iraq / Saddam Hussein / armed gangs / crimes against humanity / Baghdad / torture / security / protection / US Army / judges

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

4. SADDAM HUSSEIN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with Saddam Hussein. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

5. DICTATORS: What do you know about Saddam Hussein? Talk about him with your partner(s). Compare him with these other leaders.

Adolf Hitler  Josef Stalin  Pol Pot  Robert Mugabe   Kim Jong Il   Idi Amin   Chairman Mao

6. SADDAM TRIAL OPINIONS: Do you agree with these opinions? Talk about them with your partner(s).

1. Saddam doesn’t need a trial. He’s guilty and should be executed now.
2. The trial should be moved to a safer country.
3. All lawyers in the trial should get the highest levels of protection.
4. The trial is not a real trial – many witnesses are too scared to talk.
5. Iraq will be more peaceful if Saddam is found guilty and executed.
6. Saddam should not be executed. Life in prison is enough.
7. Saddam’s trial will send a warning to the world’s dictators.
8. Saddam should be tried by the Iraqi people in a nationwide referendum.

Change partners and compare what you talked about.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	One of Saddam Hussein’s former lawyers has been executed in Iraq.	T / F
b.	There are eight people on trial including Saddam Hussein.	T / F
c.	A lawyer said Iraq’s government was involved in the killing.	T / F
d.	Saddam’s lawyer said security for his legal team wasn’t good enough.	T / F
e.	Another defence lawyer in the trial was found dead just days earlier.	T / F
f.	One of Saddam’s friends is accused of murdering 1,982 Iraqis.	T / F
g.	A lawyer said Iraq’s government was under US Army control.	T / F
h.	Judges in the trial have been given heavy security.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	gunmen	gun-carrying
b.	armed	discovered
c.	neighborhood	turned down
d.	vehicles	district
e.	protection	killing
f.	murdered	security
g.	found	cars
h.	massacre	turn up
i.	appear	killed
j.	refused	assassins

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	shot by	against humanity case
b.	a speeding	of Baghdad
c.	the Adil neighborhood	for murder and torture
d.	one of	in the trial to be murdered
e.	the high-profile crimes	car
f.	the second defence lawyer	Saddam’s friends
g.	He had been representing one of	court
h.	on trial	an armed gang
i.	appear in	of the US Army
j.	under the control	eight people on trial

WHILE READING / LISTENING

WORD ORDER: Put the underlined words back into the correct order.

Second Saddam Hussein lawyer killed

Gunmen have in another lawyer killed the Saddam Hussein trial in Iraq. Adel al-Zubeidi was an armed by shot gang in a speeding car in the Adil neighborhood of Baghdad. He was representing former Iraqi vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan. Mr. Ramadan of one people is eight on trial in the high-profile crimes against humanity case. Saddam’s lawyer blamed the Iraqi government for the killing. He said “group using an armed government vehicles” was used in the attack. He also said the protection given to Saddam’s legal
good not team was enough.

Mr. Zubeidi is the second defence lawyer to be in the trial murdered in the past month. In late October, Iraqi police found the body of Saadoun al-Janabi. He had been representing one of Saddam’s trial was friends for who on murder and torture in the 1982 massacre of Iraqis in Baghdad. After Mr. Janabi’s murder, defence members of several the team said they would not appear in court until they got better security. However, the lawyers refused protection from the Iraqi government, under which they say is the control of the US Army. Prosecutors and judges in the trial security given have been heavy.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Second Saddam Hussein lawyer killed

Gunmen have _______ another lawyer in the Saddam Hussein trial in Iraq. Adel al-Zubeidi was shot by an _______ gang in a speeding car in the Adil neighborhood of Baghdad. He was representing _______ Iraqi vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan. Mr. Ramadan is one of eight people on trial in the high-_______ crimes against humanity case. Saddam’s lawyer blamed the Iraqi government for the killing. He said “an armed group using government _______” was used in the attack. He also said the protection given to Saddam’s _______ team was not good enough.

Mr. Zubeidi is the second defence lawyer in the trial to be murdered ___ ____ _____ month. In late October, Iraqi police found the body of Saadoun al-Janabi. He had been representing one of Saddam’s friends who was ___ ______ ____ murder and torture in the 1982 massacre of Iraqis in Baghdad. After Mr. Janabi’s murder, several members of the defence team said they would not _________ in court until they got better security. However, the lawyers refused protection from the Iraqi government, which they say is under the _________ of the US Army. Prosecutors and _________ in the trial have been given heavy security.

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘defence’ and ‘lawyer’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. WORD ORDER: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers.

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “SADDAM HUSSEIN TRIAL” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about Saddam Hussein, his trial and the murders of his defence lawyers.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

another speeding vice humanity vehicles team

past body 1982 appear refused heavy

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
2. Have you been following the Saddam Hussein trial?
3. Do you know who any of the other defendants are?
4. Would you be a witness in the trial if you had information about Saddam?
5. Do you think the lawyers should receive presidential levels of protection?
6. What is Saddam on trial for?
7. Why do you think it is so easy for gunmen to kill defence lawyers?
8. Do you think the trial should be moved to another country?
9. Do you think the world community should bring other dictators to trial?
10. Which other world leaders do you think are dictators and why?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What do you think about what you read?
3. Do you think Saddam will get a fair trial?
4. Do you think Saddam should die if he is found guilty?
5. What do you think would happen in Iraq if Saddam Hussein was found not guilty?
6. Do you think the Iraqi government is really behind the killing of the lawyers?
7. Will Iraq be different if Saddam is found guilty and executed?
8. What questions would you like to ask Saddam Hussein?
9. What do you think his answers would be?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

TRIAL SAFETY: You have to make sure Saddam Hussein’s trial continues without any more problems. In pairs / groups, agree on actions for the points below. In the column on the right, write down your reasons for choosing these actions:

POINTS	REASONS
Trial in Iraq or another country.
Saddam tried alone or with co-accused.
Iraqi-only lawyers or a mix of Iraqi and foreign lawyers.
Lawyer protection.
Witness protection.
Punishment if found guilty.
Other.

• Change partners and show each other your suggestions and plans.
• Give each other feedback on whether these suggestions would be accepted by Iraqis and the US military. Offer advice on how to improve them.
• Role play a meeting between you and Saddam Hussein. You must present your plan to him. He will give you his opinions.
• Discuss which of the above problems are most urgent in making sure the trial continues smoothly.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on Saddam Hussein. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

3. TRIAL PLAN: Make a plan for the trial of Saddam Hussein to go ahead smoothly, without any further problems. Think about how to protect witnesses and lawyers. Show what you wrote to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

4. LETTER: Write a letter to the head of the Saddam Hussein trial. Tell him/her what you think of the recent murders of defence lawyers. Give your opinions on whether or not the trial should be moved to another country. Show what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. T

d. T

e. F

f. F

g. T

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	gunmen	assassins
b.	armed	gun-carrying
c.	neighborhood	district
d.	vehicles	cars
e.	protection	security
f.	murdered	killed
g.	found	discovered
h.	massacre	killing
i.	appear	turn up
j.	refused	turned down

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	shot by	an armed gang
b.	a speeding	car
c.	the Adil neighborhood	of Baghdad
d.	one of	eight people on trial
e.	the high-profile crimes	against humanity case
f.	the second defence lawyer	in the trial to be murdered
g.	He had been representing one of	Saddam’s friends
h.	on trial	for murder and torture
i.	appear in	court
j.	under the control	of the US Army

WORD ORDER:

Second Saddam Hussein lawyer killed

Gunmen have killed another lawyer in the Saddam Hussein trial in Iraq. Adel al-Zubeidi was shot by an armed gang in a speeding car in the Adil neighborhood of Baghdad. He was representing former Iraqi vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan. Mr. Ramadan is one of eight people on trial in the high-profile crimes against humanity case. Saddam’s lawyer blamed the Iraqi government for the killing. He said “an armed group using government vehicles” was used in the attack. He also said the protection given to Saddam’s legal team was not good enough.

Mr. Zubeidi is the second defence lawyer in the trial to be murdered in the past month. In late October, Iraqi police found the body of Saadoun al-Janabi. He had been representing one of Saddam’s friends who was on trial for murder and torture in the 1982 massacre of Iraqis in Baghdad. After Mr. Janabi’s murder, several members of the defence team said they would not appear in court until they got better security. However, the lawyers refused protection from the Iraqi government, which they say is under the control of the US Army. Prosecutors and judges in the trial have been given heavy security.

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