IGC president: Saddam should be tried by Iraqi judges

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, December 18, 2003

IGC president: Saddam should be tried by Iraqi judges

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The head of the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, said Wednesday in London that the fate of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein should be decided by Iraqi judges and Saddam would be given a fair trial.

"He will be tried and after that we will do what the judge and the court will decide," al-Hakim told reporters following talks on Iraq with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.

"The court will look at all the allegations against Saddam and the other criminals of the Baath Party and they will decide how to deal with these issues according to international legal standards," he said.

Al-Hakim, the current president of the governing council, has been in London on the latest stage of his European tour which has also brought him to Paris and Madrid.

Al-Hakim, who reportedly said in Paris that Saddam could face the death penalty, declined to confirm on Wednesday whether he believed the former Iraqi leader should receive the capital punishment, which Britain repeatedly said it would oppose.

Straw reiterated at the joint news conference with al-Hakim that the British government is against the death penalty, but he added that the final decision as to Saddam's fate must rest with the Iraqi people.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier on Wednesday met withal-Hakim for talks on the situation in Iraq and the consequences of the capture of Saddam.

According to Blair's official spokesman, during the talks, al-Hakim noted that many Iraqis who had feared Saddam's possible return had now had that fear removed.

Blair and al-Hakim also agreed that Saddam's arrest presented an opportunity for reconciliation and a chance for all communities to come together, allowing all traditions and tribes to play a part in the new Iraq.

The two leaders also had a discussion relating to the structures and mechanisms that could be put in place to allow that to happen alongside the implementation of the political timetable which had been announced last month, Blair's spokesman added.

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