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Saddam's EU suit rejected
14/03/2006 21:53 - (SA)
Strasbourg - Europe's human rights court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by Saddam Hussein against 21 European countries whose troops joined the US-led military campaign in Iraq, saying the case fell outside its jurisdiction.
Saddam said his arrest, detention and subsequent handover to the Iraqi authorities and the ongoing trial in Baghdad breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
Saddam said coalition forces had violated his right to life, right to liberty and security and several other articles of Europe's human rights convention. He noted that he could face execution if found guilty in a trial that he claimed lacked even the basic tools of defence.
He argued that his case fell within the jurisdiction of the European nations that joined the US-led coalition, which he said continued to hold de-facto power in Iraq even after the June 2004 transfer of authority to Iraqis.
The European Court of Human Rights, which deals with human rights violations on the territory of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, said Saddam's suit did not fall within the jurisdiction of any of the 21 nations cited.
- AP
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