War crimes tribunal established

Iraqi leaders have created a special tribunal to prosecute people suspected of crimes against humanity, with backing from the US-led administration. A five-judge panel will hear the cases of suspected war criminals and those accused of gross human rights violations in Iraq using local laws, Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, the rotating president of the US-appointed Governing Council said in a press conference on Wednesday in Baghdad. However, international standards will be applied, including Geneva Conventions on war signed in 1949. Numerous international experts would be involved, said a Coalition official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We want to ensure this is not seen as a tribunal for revenge," A-Hakim said. "The rights of the accused will be guaranteed as prescribed under international law." Former President Saddam Hussein could be the court’s first case, even if he were still at large, according to Judge Dara Nur al-Din, who sits on the Governing Council. "This statute reflects the willingness of people to try those responsible for crimes against humanity," Nur al-Din told IRIN in Baghdad. "This is not to be vengeful against members of the former Ba'th Party or to settle personal accounts," he added. Nur al-Din said he did not know when the court would actually start operating or who would be chosen to sit on the panel. The Coalition official said an investigative judge apart from the five-judge panel would start collecting evidence against various figures to establish if there was enough evidence to indict them. Political parties and rights groups around the country have been collecting evidence against members of the former regime they say were involved in killing and torture. "We felt this was a significant decision that needed to be made by Iraqis," the Coalition official told IRIN. "This is law, so there is a process now, a foundation to start establishing investigations." US-led troops are holding about 10,000 detainees around the country at the moment, including an unknown number of suspected common criminals. Of the 55 "high-value targets" wanted by the United States, 39 are in custody. Another 250 to 300 people are being questioned in connection with the search for weapons of mass destruction and related matters. Up to 5,000 detainees may be Mojahedin-e Khalq fighters who were trying to destabilise Iran. Saddam opened Iraq’s jails and released all the criminals and political prisoners before Coalition forces rolled into the country in April. Whereas the basis of the tribunal may now be in place, much remains to be decided. Controversy has followed the creation of the tribunal, which has the blessing of the top US administrator in Iraq, Paul Bremer. But it is argued that such a system would require financial backing from the international community. Some have said Iraqi lawyers, and perhaps even the country's laws, are not up to the task of charging and indicting people for crimes against humanity. Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement following the announcement of the tribunal's creation, saying the law establishing the Iraqi war crimes tribunal lacked essential elements to ensure legitimate and credible trials for perpetrators of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. "Iraqis rightly insist that trials for past atrocities are of the utmost importance," said Richard Dicker, the director of the HRW's International Justice Programme. "But any tribunal set up to try these crimes should be fair and effective. Justice must be done and be seen to be done." In its statement, HRW pointed out that the law did not require judges and prosecutors to have experience of working on complex criminal cases and cases involving serious human rights crimes. Nor did the law permit the appointment of non-Iraqi prosecutors or investigative judges, even if they had relevant experience of investigating and prosecuting serious human rights crimes. HRW welcomed the provision of the law allowing for the possibility of appointing non-Iraqi trial and appeals chamber judges with experience ofn trying serious human rights crimes if the Iraqi Governing Council deemed it necessary. The law also includes some important provisions to protect the rights of the accused and applies definitions of international crimes largely consistent with international standards, according to HRW. HRW recommended that a group of experts, comprising both Iraqi and international specialists, be formed to propose appropriate accountability mechanisms and facilitate collection and preservation of evidence. However, Al-Hakim and Nur al-Din said Iraq could handle such a court. "We will take into account applicable laws to ensure the procedures and rights of the accused. [Cases] will depend on evidence," Nur al-Din said. "We won’t use circumstantial evidence. There has to be proof. We have to be sure who did it." Those involved in campaigns of terror waged by Saddam Hussein, including putting down an uprising in 1991 of Iraqis in and around Al-Hillah, about 100 km south of Baghdad, would be examined by investigators, Al-Hakim said. Those suspected of crimes during the war with Kuwait or suspected involvement in the torture of political prisoners wwould also be examined, he added. Officials declined to say when the court might start working or who might sit on the panels to hear cases. Sentences had not been decided, officials said, declining to discuss the death penalty. Ahmad Chalabi, a Governing Council member and Pentagon favourite, said privately that a loophole in Iraqi law might enable judges to sentence people to death. Judges would not be named by US-led administrators, officials said. They also said issues relevant to the court might change after June, when custody of the government was to be handed back to Iraqis. Al-Hakim also said Iraqis would take over custody of those currently in detention. His comments could not immediately be confirmed by Coalition officials. The press conference was held in a newly built courtroom in Saddam’s former "gifts museum", which used to hold galleries filled with items given to the former president to curry favour. An elaborate wooden cage about three metres high to hold the accused during trial is one of the courtroom's more unusual aspects.