US to face war crimes charge?

2004-11-22 22:03

Amman, Jordan - Members of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime are considering suing the Bush administration in the World Court for alleged war crimes in Iraq, the chief of the former dictator's legal team said on Monday.

Ziad al-Khasawneh told The Associated Press that Saddam's Jordan-based defence team could not initiate legal action on its own against the US government in the International Court of Justice in the Hague, Netherlands, because the tribunal refuses to hear any individual cases.

"Since the World Court doesn't accept cases from individuals, the lawsuit could be filed on behalf of members of President Saddam's government," al-Khasawneh said.

He declined to identify any former Iraqi officials who might bring such a suit, or say if they were in Iraq or abroad.

It was not immediately clear if the lawsuit - if it were filed - would create a legal precedent or whether the World Court has heard cases previously from toppled governments.

"We are toying with the idea of filing the lawsuit," said al-Khasawneh, who heads the legal team appointed by Saddam's wife, Sajida.

'Illegal'

He said the latest American incursion into the troubled city of Fallujah, including the killing of an apparently unarmed and wounded Iraqi by a US marine at a mosque, was "one of scores of examples of American atrocities".

Al-Khasawneh said the legal team was also encouraged by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's statements describing Iraq's invasion as "illegal".

In September, Annan told BBC television that the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 "was not in conformity with the UN charter from our point of view. From the charter point of view, it was illegal".

The legal team has enlisted an unspecified number of attorneys from the United States, Britain and France to assist in the possible lawsuit, al-Khasawneh said.

He said there were no lawyers from Arab countries, apparently because of sensitivity by Arab governments.

Jordanian government officials were not immediately available to comment.

Jordan, a key Arab ally of the United States that currently chairs the International Criminal Court, has turned down several American requests this year to extend immunity to American peacekeepers against prosecution for war crimes.

But government officials have said privately that Jordan has promised to avoid taking action against the peacekeepers.

- AP