Posted on 03/01/2005 1:30:07 PM PST by Shermy
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Tareq Aziz, one of Saddam Hussein's jailed right-hand men, was interrogated in Baghdad by representatives of a UN panel investigating corruption in Iraq's oil-for-food programme, his lawyer told AFP.
Aziz also made a desperate handwritten and verbal appeal through his lawyer to be allowed to see his family.
The meeting with the three investigators lasted almost eight hours and took place at a detention facility near Baghdad's international airport in the presence of US military and government personnel and an Iraqi investigating judge, said defense attorney Badie Aref Izzat.
"They had no right to question him like that," the lawyer told AFP.
Aziz, the former Iraqi deputy prime minister, denied any wrongdoing under the programme and refused to answer some of the questions posed to him by the investigators, Izzat said, without providing further details.
"Some of the information that emerged is very dangerous and involves people that are currently in power and I have to think about the interest of my client in making this public," said Izzat.
An official with the Independent Inquiry Committee reached in New York by telephone refused to comment on the meeting.
Izzat said the committee's representatives, who arrived one week ago, have already questioned former oil ministers Amer Rashid and Samir Najm, former central bank governor Issam Huwaish, former head of the presidential diwan (council) Ahmed Hussein al-Samarrai and Saddam's nephew Mohammed Barzan al-Tikriti.
Aziz, 68, is believed to be ready to name names in a scandal that now threatens UN chief Kofi Annan, several international figures and companies in France, Russia and other countries.
A damning interim report released by the panel in early February found Benon Sevan, who headed the programme, had repeatedly asked for oil allocations from Saddam's regime.
The UN panel is led by former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volker.
Aziz was the face of Iraq under Saddam's regime. He surrendered in April 2003 after Baghdad fell to the Americans and has since made only one brief appearance in court in July 2004.
Izzat said Aziz was wearing a an old jogging suit during the meeting and appeared to have lost weight and was in fragile health since he last saw him on December 23.
He asked his lawyer to speak with Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani to put pressure on current human rights minister Bakhtiar Amin, another Kurd, to allow him to see his family.
"I am cut from my family since July 2004. No contact at all," said a note signed by Aziz and scribbled in both English and Arabic in his lawyer's agenda.
He also slipped a short letter to his lawyer addressed to his wife in Arabic.
"My health is fine, do not worry," said the letter, signed Tareq.
"Embrace all the children for me."
The US military was not immediately available for comment.
"Aziz, 68, is believed to be ready to name names in a scandal that now threatens UN chief Kofi Annan, several international figures and companies in France, Russia and other countries."
Major Bump!
Well .. in that regard - You're correct. I forgot about them using locals in those areas - even though the locals probably don't have any access to the prisoners - they probably do know the prisoners are there; meal preperation, laundry, etc.
Sorry about the rant. I just feel that some things are important and others aren't. I need to just keep reading more and typing less.
The U.N. is nothing but corrupt! After watching Steve Harrigan's (Fox News) report on the U.N. officials RAPING girls as young as SEVEN nothing surprises me about that group of CRIMINALS.
Too bad terrorist didn't take out the U.N. instead of the World Trade Center in New York. I doubt anyone would have noticed!
You don't have anything to be sorry for. I hadn't thought about locals being on the base and probably knowing about the prison .. that was a very good point.
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