Saddam as POW concerns Iraqis

BAGHDAD — Iraqi officials expressed anxiety yesterday that a Pentagon decision to declare Saddam Hussein a prisoner of war might prevent them from putting the ousted dictator on trial. The international Red Cross, however, said POW status does not preclude a war crimes prosecution.

U.S. officials in Baghdad sought to assure Iraqis that no deal was made to keep them from trying the ousted dictator for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Iraq will have a “substantial leadership role” when Saddam faces justice, said Dan Senor, a spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition authority.

“There is no need for concern by anybody because the ultimate designation [of Saddams status] will be determined down the road,” Mr. Senor told a news conference yesterday.

On Friday, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said the Defense Department’s top civilian lawyers determined that Saddam — held in U.S. custody and under CIA interrogation since his capture last month — is a prisoner of war because of his status as former commander in chief of Iraq’s military.

POW status under the Geneva Conventions grants Saddam certain rights, including access to visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross and freedom from coercion of any kind during interrogations.

In Geneva, Ian Piper, a spokesman for the International Red Cross, said handing Saddam over to the Iraqis for trial would not conflict with the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the conduct of warfare, as long as he is granted due process.

It is up to the United States to determine how Saddam is to be tried, Mr. Piper said.

“The status means that he’s recognized as a formal combatant and therefore cannot be accused for having waged war,” Mr. Piper said. But he added that Saddam’s prisoner of war status “does not give him immunity from accusations of crimes against humanity.”

Mr. Piper said that national courts have the power to try people who break international war crimes conventions.

Saddam’s capture brought a sense of relief to many Iraqis who suffered under his 23 years of iron-fisted rule. No Red Cross representatives have yet seen Saddam.

The United States has said it plans to hand Saddam over to the Iraqis for trial. But that is not expected to happen before sovereignty is handed back to an Iraqi government by July 1.

Saddam’s POW designation raised concerns among many Iraqis that it would keep him out of an Iraqi court — and made some suspicious that the Americans want it that way.

“I am surprised by this decision,” said Dara Nor al-Din, a former appeals court judge and member of Iraq’s U.S.-appointed Governing Council. “We still consider Saddam a criminal, and he will be tried on this basis. This new move will be discussed thoroughly in the Governing Council.”

Iraq’s justice minister, Hashim Abdul-Rahman, called the Pentagon comments “mere views” and insisted that Iraqis themselves would determine Saddam’s fate.

“The only thing I do know is that Iraqi bodies will decide Saddam’s status,” Mr. Abdul-Rahman said. “We will determine his legal status when the Iraqi authorities take over this issue.”

Mr. Senor sought to play down the significance of the Pentagon comments.

“It is a confirmation of what the United States government has said all along and that Saddam Hussein will be treated under the Geneva Conventions until determined otherwise,” he said.