Iraq plans to charge Saddam before handover

Iraqi authorities hope to file criminal charges against Saddam Hussein and others in the former regime before the June 30 transfer of sovereignty to the new government, a senior official said today.

President George Bush also said the US would turn Saddam over but declined to set a timetable, saying “appropriate security” must first be in place.

Neither the United States nor the new Iraq government wants there “to be lax security and for Saddam Hussein to not stand trial,” Bush said in the White House Rose Garden.

Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Saddam and other detainees would be transferred to Iraqi authorities in the next two weeks. Allawi said Saddam would stand trial “as soon as possible” but gave no specifics on timing.

“I suspect that there will be an arrest warrant filed not only against Saddam but also against the other high-ranking officials before June 30,” said Salem Chalabi, the official in charge of setting up a tribunal to charge members of the ousted regime.

“We have been working quite hard in the last few days on that, believe me,” Chalabi said.

Chalabi said that he believes Iraqi authorities will have premises for holding Saddam if and when he is handed over by the Americans, who have been holding the former dictator at an undisclosed location in Iraq since he was arrested in December.

Saddam’s status has been under discussion as the US led occupation’s end approaches.

The International Committee of the Red Cross has indicated that under international law, Saddam must be charged or released after the formal end of the occupation since he was detained as a prisoner of war.

Coalition spokesman Dan Senor said the United States wanted Saddam tried by an Iraqi court and that talks were under way to determine how and when.

“I wouldn’t call them negotiations,” Senor said. “I would call them discussions. Both sides have an interest in handing over Saddam Hussein to the Iraqis. The only matter is when is the appropriate time. That is something we are discussing with the prime minister right now.”

White House press secretary Scott McClellan also said the United States is discussing Saddam’s transfer with the interim government.

“We have previously made it clear that he will be turned over to face justice from the Iraqi people at the appropriate time. That’s still the case,” he said.

US officials have said they plan to continue to hold up to 5,000 prisoners deemed a threat to the coalition even after the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty at the end of this month. They say as many as 1,400 detainees will either be released or transferred to Iraqi authorities.

The six month-old Iraqi Special Tribunal which Chalabi is organising has struggled to put appropriate security safeguards in place.

War crimes experts have cautioned that as long as violence prevails in Iraq, the trial of Saddam and at least 100 others suspected of committing atrocities against the Iraqi people should wait – unless a foreign venue can be found.

Judges have refused to work for the tribunal after five potential candidates were killed since Saddam was toppled from power last year. Tens of millions of pounds have been spent on security alone.

Interim President Ghazi al-Yawer said that his government’s top priority would be regaining security in Iraq and rehabilitating Iraqi security institutions.

“But things do not happen overnight,” he said. “Of course, the increase in political assassinations and bombings target the Iraqi people. The victims of this assassinations are all qualified Iraqis, with no political leanings.”

He said he believed Iraq was moving toward democracy, and that it was unacceptable to declare a state of emergency.