BAGHDAD, 1 July 2004 — The US transferred to the Iraqis legal custody of Saddam Hussein and 11 of his top lieutenants yesterday, a first step toward the ousted dictator’s expected trial for crimes against humanity.
In a one-line announcement, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s office said the Iraqi government assumed legal — but not physical — control “today, 30th June, at 10:15 in the morning.”
They are to appear in court today for a reading of the charges.
Salem Chalabi, the director of the Special Tribunal that will conduct the trials, said he met Saddam “earlier today to explain his rights and what will happen.”
“The first step has happened,” Chalabi said.
The defendants were informed individually of their rights, said an international official who spoke on condition of anonymity. An Iraqi judge witnessed the proceedings.
Saddam, who appeared to have lost weight in confinement, said “good morning” as he entered the room, according to Chalabi. After being informed that he was being placed under Iraqi jurisdiction, Saddam, who ruled Iraq for nearly 24 years with absolute authority, was ordered “to leave the room,” Chalabi added.
The other defendants also were brought into the room individually to hear that they would appear in court today, Chalabi said.
“Some of them looked very worried,” Chalabi added.
Saddam will remain in a US-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. The change in status gives them the right to attorneys.
Paul Bremer, the former US administrator, said he was confident that the Iraqis would handle the trials well. Saddam “will get the kind of justice he denied his own people,” Bremer told ABC TV. “It’s a wonderful day for the Iraqis to get him under their direct control. It will be a major event.”
The crimes against humanity for which Saddam is expected to be tried include the 1988 chemical weapons massacre of Kurds in Halabja, the slaughter of Shiites during a 1991 uprising in southern Iraq, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Chalabi said Saddam’s appearance today at the tribunal, in a courthouse with a prominent clock tower inside Baghdad’s sealed-off Green Zone, is expected to be videotaped for public release.
The images would be the first of Saddam the public will have seen since his Dec. 13 capture by US soldiers, when a clip showed the bushy-bearded leader opening his mouth for a dental examination.
The Saddam lieutenants who will also appear include Ali Hassan Al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali”; former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan; former Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz; and two of Saddam’s half brothers. Mouwafak Al-Rubaie, Iraq’s new national security adviser, said that he hoped to broadcast the trial live on television so that the world would see “what Saddam has done to virtually every person, every individual in this country.”
— Additional input from agencies
