AYOUB Posted June 30, 2004 OUSTED Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would get the death penalty if he was found guilty of the serious crimes levelled against him, Iraq's interim Justice Minister Malek Dohan al-Hassan said in a newspaper interview today. He told the Italian daily Repubblica that the new interim government in Baghdad had just approved a decree reinstating the death penalty, which had been abolished by Paul Bremer, who until Monday was the US civil administrator in Iraq. "We are reinstating the death penalty. We are a sovereign state ... We have the right and the duty to re-establish the instruments which we deem the most useful," Mr Hassna said. "If the evidence proves the serious crimes that he (Saddam) is accused of, then the special court set up during the occupation could sentence him to death," the minister said. "For crimes against humanity, genocide, use of chemical weapons, we can use capital punishment," he stressed. "We are in in an emergency situation. We are facing a ferocious enemy which wants to destroy (our) budding democracy and freedom." Iraq's interim government took legal custody of Saddam and 11 top members of his ousted regime earlier today from the US-led military. The 12 are due to appear before the Special Iraqi Tribunal tomorrow. In a one-line statement, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's office said that the Iraqis had assumed legal - but not custodial - control, "today, 30th June, at 10.15 in the morning." They are to appear in court on Thursday for a formal reading of the charges. "The first step has happened," Salem Chalabi, the director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal that will try Saddam, said. He refused to elaborate. "I met with him (Saddam) earlier today to explain his rights and what will happen," Chalabi said. Chalabi informed Saddam that he was no longer under the custody of the US. "He's in good health. He was seeing a doctor this morning," Chalabi said, about the former president who has visibly lost weight behind bars. The 12 defendants were informed individually of their rights, said an international official. An Iraqi judge witnessed the proceedings. Saddam will remain in an American-controlled jail guarded by Americans until the Iraqis are ready to take physical custody of him. That is expected to take a long time. However, the legal transfer means that Saddam and the others are no longer prisoners of war - subject to rights under the Geneva Conventions - but criminal defendants whose treatment will be in accordance with Iraqi law. Multinational forces will continue to guard Saddam, who is likely to be charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, amid fears he could organise a jail break if left only under Iraqi guard. Saddam once hanged thousands at the gallows in the notorious Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, but the US-led coalition suspended the death penalty after toppling his police state last year. A shackled Saddam will make his first public appearance tomorrow since his capture six months ago, when Iraq reads off its arrest warrant against the former president and the 11 others. However, the actual indictment for the humiliated despot and his entourage is still months way as investigators cull for evidence against the men. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JustCause Posted July 1, 2004 This cartoon by Steve Bell in The Guardian, describes it all! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AYOUB Posted July 1, 2004 Saddam hears charges against him Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
