Let court decide on Saddam penalty - PM

Iraq’s interim prime minister said today that it was up to the Iraqi Special Tribunal to decide whether Saddam Hussein and his henchmen should face capital punishment on war crimes charges, the Arab language television station Al-Arabiya reported in Baghdad.

Ayad Allawi said he was willing to abide by whatever the court decides in the case, which is not expected to go to trial for months.

Iraq assumed legal custody of Saddam from the United States last week and re-instituted the death penalty, which had been suspended by US occupation authorities.

“As for execution, that is for the court to decide – so long as a decision is reached impartially and fairly,” he said.

The broad charges formally outlined against Saddam include the 1988 chemical weapons massacre of Kurds in Halabja, the slaughter of Shiites during a 1991 uprising in southern Iraq and the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.