A while back, a friend of mine and I -- neither of us members of the odd species of paranoids usually referred to as 9/11 conspiracy theorists -- were discussing that, just the same, there were some troubling questions about the aftermath of the attacks, like the shifting story of what happened on Flight 93, the all-too-convienient discovery of one of the terrorists' passports in the wreckage, or the fact that several of the men identified as the 9/11 attackers have since turned up alive, well, and innocent of any wrongdoing. When I asked why, given that this was one of the most important historical events in the history of the modern world, so few people seemed interested in getting the facts straight, he said, essentially, no one cares about giving murderous terrorists a fair hearing.
Jacques Vergès does. The subject of Barbet Schroeder's latest documentary film, Terror's Advocate, Vergès is one of the few people in the world who believes in defending the indefensible. Having first defended and later married an Algerian woman accused of terror-bombing French civilians during the war against occupation there, the notorious attorney has gone on to represent people most of the world would just as soon see buried alive in a deep, dark hole: Carlos the Jackal, Klaus Barbie and Khmer Rouge bigwig Khieu Samphan. The question at the heart of Terror's Advocate is a compelling one: is Vergès as he describes himself, a dedicated anti-colonialist who believes in his heart that even the worst people deserve a fair defense, an adequate trial, and a chance to make their voices heard? Or is he, as Schroeder describes him, a decadent aesthete and a monster whose clients are little more than devils in human shape?
Read More...