Zeibari promises of fair trials, a request to release Aziz

The interim Iraqi foreign minister promised a fair trial for the former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, considering it a basic matter to preserve the credibility of the new Iraqi government.

In press statements in Peking, Hoshyar Zeibari described Saddam Hussein as "a dangerous prisoner," stressing that appropriate legal measures will be provided for him and detained members of his government.

The Iraqi minister considered that this will be of a positive impact on the elections due on January 30th. The Interim Iraqi government decided to start the trials before making the elections. Saddam will be the last to be brought before the court's attorney.

Preliminary measures started last week by interrogating the two former ministers of defense Ali Hassan al-Mijuid and Sultan Hashem. Attention is being focused currently on Tareq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister who met with his lawyer and he was quoted refusing to give his testimony against Saddam Hussein.

Lawyer Bade' Aref Izzat announced that he will ask the chairman of the Iraqi court's judicial investigation commission specialized in war crimes to release Aziz because evidence is not sufficient against him.

Izzat considered that evidence is not enough to bring his client for trial and described his detention as illegal.

The investigation commission chaired by judge Raed Houji accused Aziz officially in July this year of involving in what he described mass killing crimes between 1979 and 1991.