Iraq to charge Saddam with war crimes

Iraq's new authorities took legal control of Saddam Hussein and 11 key deputies Wednesday, the government said, setting the stage for a trial for alleged war crimes during the deposed leader's 24 years in power.

In a one line statement, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's office said the Iraqis had assumed legal -- but not physical -- control, "today, 30th June, at 10:15 in the morning." The 12 defendants are expected to appear in court on Thursday for a formal reading of the charges.

"The first step has happened," Salem Chalabi, the director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal, told The Associated Press. "I met with him (Saddam) earlier today to explain his rights and what will happen."

He refused to elaborate.

The defendants were informed individually of their rights, said an international official who spoke on condition of anonymity. An Iraqi judge witnessed the proceedings.

Saddam, who appeared to have lost weight in confinement, said "Good morning" as he entered the room, according to Chalabi. After being informed that he was being placed under Iraqi jurisdiction, Saddam, who ruled Iraq for nearly 24 years with absolute authority, was ordered "to leave the room," Chalabi added.

The other defendants also were brought into the room individually to hear that they would appear in court Thursday, Chalabi said.

"Some of them looked very worried," Chalabi added.

Saddam will remain in a U.S.-controlled jail guarded by Americans until the Iraqis are ready to take physical custody of him. That is expected to take a long time.

However, the legal transfer means that Saddam and the others are no longer prisoners of war ¡ª subject to rights under the Geneva Conventions ¡ª but criminal defendants whose treatment will be in accordance with Iraqi law. The change in status gives them the right to attorneys.

Chalabi said earlier that the trials of Saddam and other senior figures likely would not begin before 2005.

L. Paul Bremer, the former U.S. administrator, said he was confident that the Iraqis would handle the trials well.

Saddam "will get the kind of justice he denied his own people," Bremer told ABC's "Good Morning America." "It's a wonderful day for the Iraqis to get him under their direct control. It will be a major event."

The crimes against humanity for which Saddam is expected to be tried include the 1988 chemical weapons massacre of Kurds in Halabja, the slaughter of Shiites during a 1991 uprising in southern Iraq, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

Chalabi said Saddam's appearance Thursday at the tribunal, in a courthouse with a prominent clock tower inside Baghdad's sealed-off Green Zone, is expected to be videotaped for public release.

The images would be the first of Saddam the public will have seen since his Dec. 13 capture by U.S. soldiers, when a clip showed the bushy-bearded leader opening his mouth for a dental examination.

The Saddam lieutenants who will also appear include Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali"; former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan; former deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz; and two of Saddam's half brothers.

Source: CD/Agencies