Posted on 06/14/2004 4:37:46 PM PDT by Pikamax
Red Cross: Saddam Can Be Held for Trial
Monday June 14, 2004 11:01 PM
By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS
Associated Press Writer
GENEVA (AP) - Saddam Hussein can be held for trial even though most Iraqi prisoners of war are entitled to immediate release at the end of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, the Red Cross said Monday.
This announcement came as Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, told Al-Jazeera television Monday that he received official confirmation that all detainees, including Saddam, would be ``handed over to the Iraqi government'' within two weeks.
``Any prisoner of war suspected of having committed any type of crime can be charged and tried,'' said Antonella Notari, chief spokeswoman of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Notari said she wanted to make clear the neutral ICRC has no desire to see the release of any POWs, including Saddam, who are suspected of criminal acts.
``Nobody in the ICRC is calling for the release of Saddam Hussein. Absolutely not,'' Notari told The Associated Press from the Geneva headquarters of the humanitarian agency, which serves as a watchdog to ensure adherence to the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of warfare.
The deposed Iraqi leader has been held in U.S. custody in an undisclosed location in Iraq since his capture in December.
Earlier Monday the Baghdad-based ICRC spokeswoman, Nada Doumani, told Associated Press Television News that under international and military law, Saddam and other prisoners of war and civilian prisoners should be released at the end of the conflict and occupation unless there were charges against them.
Notari said the ICRC was unable to speculate on what would happen July 1 because it didn't know how the United States would proceed with the handover of sovereignty.
``We're not making any ultimatums or calls for release,'' Notari said. ``What we're saying is: Saddam Hussein, as far as we understand today, is a POW, prisoner of war, protected by the third Geneva Convention as all prisoners of war are.
``In theory, when a war ends and when an occupation ends, the detaining force has to release prisoners of war or civilian detainees if there are no reasons for holding them.''
But that assumes they were just interned because they were combatants participating in a war.
American forces say that as many as 1,400 detainees will either be released or transferred to Iraqi authorities by the June 30 handover of power. The Americans will continue to hold between 4,000 and 5,000 prisoners deemed a threat to the coalition, the military said.
Although Iraqis will run their own affairs after June 30, tens of thousands of coalition troops will remain in the country to maintain security under a resolution approved unanimously last week by the U.N. Security Council.
After the handover of sovereignty, detainees held by the Iraqi authorities will be subject to Iraqi law.
``Now, of course, a prisoner of war who is suspected of having committed a crime must not just be released,'' Notari said. ``Of course, he must be prosecuted, tried, through a legal proceeding.
She said it was up to U.S. authorities to decide what they will do about Saddam.
``If they continue to hold him at some stage they will have to charge him,'' Notari said. ``They can also hand him over to the Iraqis, who can charge him and try him.''
As if anyone needed their permission.
Thank you very much, you scum sucking pigs.
As if...
But that assumes they were just interned because they were combatants participating in a war.
It's just the peanut gallery, but what they are saying is essentially correct. It is also why those at Guantanamo needn't be released until we feel like it - there's no government on their side to surrender, and they were not legal combatants.
Are they a bunch of lawyers over at the Red Cross now?
You are far too kind. The language I would use couldn't be posted here. This was the last straw for the RC as far as I'm concerned. I also suspect the only reason they backed down from yesterday's stance was monetary. Sorry, RC. Too late. They'll never get another penny from me.
Screw the Red Cross - I have a personal axe to grind with those SOBs - they'll never get a penny of my money. I take their opinions about as seriously as I take the shrill pukes at DU - i.e., not seriously at all.
And just WHEN is the Red Cross going to have their cooked-books audited and opened to the public??
I'm sorry, can anyone tell me why I should give a flying rats a$$ what the Red Cross says?
I will not contribute any more blood or money to the Red Cross.
Tell this busybody witch to shove her head back where the sun doesn't shine! It's none of her damn business. Put her in the same cell as Sodom Hasbeen and then see what she says, if she survives!
Who do these guys think they are, the Pope?
To quote FDR's favorite uncle Joe "How many divisions does the Red Cross have?"
This is going to be a pickle for us. Could you imagine turning him over to the Iraqis and see him 'escape'? I think back to 1985 hijacking of the Achille Lauro and Ollie North's subsequent capturing and handing over the mastermind - Abu Abbas - to the italians who let the bugger escape. I doubt the Iraqis are any LESS incompetent or corrupt than the italians.
I think the quote was: "How many divisions does the Pope have?"
We don't even have the guts to step on the Saudis. In fact, we're fleeing their country as we write. You think we're going to be any more determined in Iraq once we do the handover?
Did I miss the memo where we asked them?
Not just lawyers. Philadelphia lawyers.
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