Law experts say Saddam should stand an Iraqi trial (AFP)

CAIRO, June 14 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, along with other Iraqi prisoners, must either be released from the custody of the U.S. occupation or charged by June 30, when the new Iraqi government takes over in accordance with international law, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"The United States defines Saddam Hussein as a prisoner of war. At the end of an occupation, POWs have to be released provided they have no penal charges against them. This is the legal situation," ICRC spokeswoman Nada Doumani told Britain ’s newspaper the Guardian Sunday, June 13.

The U.S. Defense Department named Saddam a prisoner of war after much legal wrangling, nearly a month after the fugitive strongman was discovered hiding in a small hole at a farm near his hometown of Tikrit.

"When the conflict ends the prisoners of war should be released according to the Geneva conventions," Doumani stressed.

Law experts had said that Saddam should stand an Iraqi trial under Arab-International supervision to guarantee a fair trail.

The ICRC has made at least two visits to the former Iraqi President who is believed to be in a special prison at Baghdad airport.

Around 44 other members of the deposed Iraqi regime are also held there, most in solitary confinement, according to the paper.

Other detainees include scientists who were never members of the Baath party, like Dr. Amer Al-Saadi, who was the Iraqi government's liaison with the United Nations' weapons inspectors.

The ICRC visited the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in early June and found 3,291 detainees, including three women and 22 boys under 18.

"There are all these people kept in a legal vacuum. No one should be left not knowing their legal status. Their judicial rights must be assured," Doumani said.

She cited the fourth Geneva Convention’s article 133 as protecting civil internees and the third Geneva Convention’s article 118 as performing the same function for prisoners of war.

Thousands Won’t Be Freed

An Iraqi father hugs his son after being released from eight months of detention

The ICRC announcement came only hours after a U.S. occupation spokesman said that the U.S. military in Iraq will keep between 4,000 and 5,000 prisoners in its custody after the return of sovereignty to Iraq .

"At this time, we estimate there will be approximately 4,000 to 5,000 detainees after June 30, keeping in mind that anti-coalition activities occur every day, resulting in further detentions," Agence France-Presse (AFP) quoted Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson as saying.

Another 1,400 detainees will be released or handed over to the new Iraqi authorities before the transition deadline of June 30, he said.

"Currently, there are approximately 6,400 detainees," Johnson added.

Johnson further announced the occupation would shut down one of its three main prison centers in Iraq before the power handover.

"Currently, there are three theater-level detention facilities in Iraq - Camp Redemption at Abu Ghraib, Camp Bucca near Umm Qasr, and Camp Cropper (at Baghdad airport).

"The plan is to have only two theater-level facilities after June 30, Camp Redemption and Camp Bucca ," he said.

Another spokesman said that said only 500 detainees' cases "have been deemed appropriate for prosecution".

He said: "Forty-five cases are currently active and being processed for hearings and trials before the Central Criminal Court of Iraq."

Those cases did not include common law criminals, the majority of whom have already been transferred to Iraqi custody.

Family members claim they are being deliberately held without trial so as to be punished even in the absence of evidence of wrongdoing.

The U.S. found itself in an unenviable situation after the ever-growing scandal of Iraqi prisoner abuse at the hands of American soldiers and officers broke into public view last April.

More shocking is reports that the torture was okayed by senior Pentagon officials, chiefly Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez.

The U.S. Army's own investigator, Major General Antonio M. Taguba, said he found evidence of "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuse" at Abu Gharib prison.