Group Wants to Indict Saddam

A U.S.-funded group said Tuesday it has complied a dossier with enough evidence to bring Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and dozens of his senior aides to trial on war crimes.

The evidence has been handed over to the United States and Kuwait, said Ann Clwyd, a British lawmaker and the chairwoman of the London-based group Indict.

Indict said it has gathered enough evidence to justify prosecutions of Hussein and his top aides under the Geneva Convention or the International Convention against Torture.

The allegations against Hussein's regime include war crimes during Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait, the 1980 invasion of Iran and aggression against Saudi Arabia in 1991.

Other allegations involve genocide directed against Kurdish Iraqis, use of poisonous gas against Iraqi army defectors, and the internal repression of political opponents, including the rape and torture of prisoners.

"People accused of these crimes must stand trial," said Clwyd, a Labor Party lawmaker in the House of Commons. "There is no hiding place for them in the world."

The dossier's completion is considered a major step forward in efforts to establish an international tribunal on Iraq, along the lines of the tribunals set up by the United Nations for Bosnia and Rwanda. The United States has taken the lead in pressing for such a tribunal.

Indict was formed three years ago and received financial backing from the United States last year as part of a $97 million package approved by Congress to aid Hussein's opponents.

Among those named in the dossier, which has not been made public, are Saddam, his two sons and Iraq's deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, who is currently in Moscow for talks with the Russian government, Indict said.

The list of Iraqi officials also includes a so-called B-list of about 30 less prominent aides, the group said.

Iraqi officials have consistently denied allegations of war crimes, which they contend are attempts by their enemies to undermine the nation's stability.

Clwyd said she is hopeful the latest collection of evidence will pressure the U.N. Security Council to set up a tribunal.

"It may be a long haul, but nevertheless it is important to indict them so sometime in the future Hussein can stand trial," Clywd said.

By MARA D. BELLABY