5/25/2005 3:32:11
Source ::: AFP
BAGHDAD: Iraq said yesterday that police were hunting for a leading member of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime who was freed from custody by the former government because of poor health.
Ghazi Hammud Al Obeidi, one of a list of 55 notorious former regime leaders wanted by US authorities, was arrested soon after the fall of Saddam in April 2203.
But he was freed recently by a US-appointed government committee headed by former prime minister Iyad Allawi, said Leith Kubba, a spokesman for new premier Ibrahim Jaafari.
"There was a failure in the justice system and the current government does not intend to release any other prisoners" on the list of 55, Kubba said, adding that police have issued an arrest warrant for Obeidi.
The former Baath Party leader has cancer and is not expected to live long, according to Iraqi media reports. Obeidi headed Saddam's political party in Wassat province in central Iraq.
"Based on his poor health, his file was presented to a commission that decides on whether to free detainees," Kubba said. "The former government did not oppose his release." Obeidi is believed to be the only figure so far released from those arrested on the list of 55, which was also made into a deck of playing cards. Of the former regime leaders, 42 have been captured, including Obeidi.
Ibrahim Izzat al-Dhuri, Saddam's former right-hand man and most prominent figure still at large, has a $10m bounty on his head. Most of the high-level figures, including Saddam, have not been formally charged after months in jail.
Hah, is this the way its going to be done. Set them free one at a time, so that they can be hunted down and skined by their victims. Great!!