Jacques Vergès

Who was Jacques Vergès?

Jacques Vergès was a lawyer who earned fame continually from the 1950s, first as an anticolonialist communist figure and then for defending a long string of well-known clients, from an anticolonialist Algerian militant, Djamila Bouhired in 1957–1962 to former Khmer Rouge head of state Khieu Samphan in 2008. His clients included both leftwing and rightwing terrorists, war criminals, and militants, including Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy, Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, and international terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez a.k.a. Carlos the Jackal. In 2002, Vergès offered to represent former Serbian President Slobodan Milošević, although Milošević declined any legal advice from any party. The media sensationalized Vergès's activities with the sobriquet "the Devil's advocate", and he himself contributed to his "notorious" public persona by such acts as titling his autobiography The Brilliant Bastard and giving provocative replies in interviews. He claimed that "I'd even defend Bush! But only if he agrees to plead guilty."