Iraqi judiciary has Saddam Hussein officially; three American soldiers killed
Iraq, Politics, 6/30/2004

The prime minister of the Iraqi governing cabinet Eyad Allawi said that the detained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein together with other 11 of high ranking officials of the former regime will be handed over to the Iraqi judiciary today , but they will remain under the guard of the American forces until they are tried and ensuring protection able to detain them safely.

In a press conference in Baghdad, Allawi said that the convicted persons will be tried openly and justly and they have they right to assign lawyers and get legal consultancy.

For his part, the Iraqi minister of justice Malik Douhan al-Hassan said that Saddam Hussein will be tried for crimes against the Iraqi people and not because of his being a war prisoner. Al-Hassan indicated that if the court does not find enough evidences against him he will be released.

Member of the commission the Jordanian lawyer Issam Ghazzawi told reporters in Amman that the " Iraqi government which is appointed by the American occupation does not have the right to try Saddam Hussein because it is an illegal government." Within this context, the American occupation forces released 369 detainees from Abu Ghreib jail.

For his part, the secretary general of the UN Kofi Annan said that the UN is ready to make everything possible in order to help the Iraqi people. He added in an arrival statement in Doha yesterday that maintaining security in Iraq is very important for the return back of the UN organization employees.

On handing over the authority to the Iraqis, several countries including five Gulf states welcomed the handing over of authority which was made before its set date.

On the other hand, John Negro-Ponty yesterday submitted his credentials to the Iraqi President Ghazi Ojeil Elawer as the first ambassador for the US in Baghdad since 14 years. Earlier in the morning he inspected the building of the American embassy in Baghdad -- which will be the largest American embassy in the world -- one day after transferring authority to the Iraqis. This, however, coincided with the beginning of the occupation forces handing over its military institutions to the Iraqi forces.

However, with the elapse of the first day of handing over the authority to the Iraqis, one bomb went off to the east of Baghdad in one of the American patrols and this resulted in killing three marines and wounding two, according to one American military source.

Previous Stories:
  Bush, Blair describe NATO's new role: aiding freedom, democracy   (6/29/2004)
  Clashes continue in Iraq   (6/29/2004)
  Kidnapped Turks were released; Three marines killed, Gulf states welcomes authority turnover to the Iraqis   (6/29/2004)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search