Giovani Di Stefano
Tariq Aziz’s Lawyer
Previously Aired On: September 13, 2007 - Listen to this Show!
Giovanni di Stefano is a European lawyer based in Italy who frequently works in the United Kingdom. He has made a reputation advising the defense in high-profile criminal cases in English and international courts. He gained the nickname “the Devil’s Advocate” in the UK media for representing some of the most notorious defendants. He is a colourful and controversial figure, described in one source as “surely the only man in the world to claim the personal friendship of Saddam Hussein and the personal enmity of Delia Smith”.
Di Stefano was on the defense team in the trial of Saddam Hussein and also wrote a letter on behalf of Tariq Aziz (formerly the most visible figurehead under the Saddam Hussein government) to the Vatican asking that Mr. Aziz be granted a provisional release and allowed to stay in Italy until such time of of any trial by Iraq. Mr. Di Stefano has reported that Mr. Aziz has a serious heart condition and suffering from emphysema.
Di Stefano said it was “unacceptable” that Aziz had been held since April 2003 without trial. “The only time that Tariq Aziz has been in a courtroom in 44 months was when he testified in the Saddam Hussein trial,” he said. “He was not even told what he was being held for.”
Di Stefano said Aziz, who was implicated in the UN oil-for-food scandal, had been interrogated by the United States, the UK and the Iraqi administration, but that “99 per cent of what they asked him was about oil-for-food and George Galloway”.
