Iraq

Iraqis set up tribunal to try Hussein

BAGHDAD - Iraqi leaders have set up a tribunal of judges and prosecutors to try ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and other members of his Baathist regime, a spokesman said Tuesday.

Salem Chalabi, a U.S.-educated lawyer and nephew of the head of the Iraqi National Congress, was chosen general director of the tribunal, and he has appointed a panel of seven judges and four prosecutors, INC spokesman Entefadh Qanbar said. The tribunal will have a 2004-2005 budget of $75-million.

A date has yet to be set for the trial of Hussein, who was captured by U.S. troops in December and is being held by U.S. troops at an undisclosed location in or near Baghdad.

The court and prosecutors will determine charges against Hussein and his former officials, Qanbar said.

He said the tribunal will be an Iraqi court, not an international body, and will rely on a mix of Iraqi criminal law, international regulations such as the Geneva Convention and experiences of bodies such as the Rwanda war crimes tribunal. The judges and prosecutors will undergo training in those areas, he added.

Qanbar said the first batch of judges and prosecutors have been selected by the Iraqi Governing Council's judicial committee and Chalabi. More appointments will be made in the future.

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