A "special" Iraqi tribunal could be set up to try toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, if caught, and members of his regime for crimes against the Iraqi people, a top U.S. law official. "There is a broad consensus that crimes against the Iraqi people be handled by Iraqi justice," said Clint Williamson, the senior U.S. advisor to Iraq's justice ministry.
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"We think the Iraqis should have the lead on that," Williamson said of the prosecution of the 55 top Iraqi officials on Washington's most-wanted list with Saddam as the ace of spades. "Prosecution involving crimes on a large scale will immobilise the system for years. So we need to set up some sort of special arrangements to deal with it. It has to be clarified and the details have to be determined, but it will probably take place within the broad premises of the Iraqi justice."
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Asked about the chances of trying former Iraqi officials in local courts, Iraqi judge Ibrahim Malik al-Hindawi said "Iraqi law is applicable to all Iraqis, whatever their position." |