Edited for brevity.
U.S. authorities have given the international Red Cross permission to see Saddam Hussein, but no date has been set, the organization said Saturday. The ICRC requested permission to visit Saddam soon after he was captured Dec. 13 and the United States declared him a prisoner of war. "We have had a green light for a visit," Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a newspaper interview. "However, we don’t yet know when it will take place." ICRC spokesman Florian Westphal confirmed Kellenberger’s comments, but told The Associated Press he could not say when U.S. authorities had given the organization permission to see the toppled Iraqi leader. "We hope to see him as soon as possible," Westphal said. The ICRC traditionally works behind the scenes and refuses to comment on specific cases. Kellenberger said the same rules would apply after it sees Saddam. "Why make an exception for him? He’s a prisoner of war," he was quoted as saying. "We don’t talk publicly about conditions of detention. But we discuss them in a very clear manner with the authorities concerned." |