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Less than a year after her father was sent to the gallows, Saddam Hussein's daughter is facing charges that could lead to her execution.
Raghad Hussein, 38, has been charged with financing the insurgents who have bedevilled Iraq since shortly after her father's regime was toppled in 2003, an Interior Ministry spokesman said.
Hussein is believed to be living in Amman, Jordan, as a guest of King Abdullah II.
The spokesman, Abdul Kereem Khalaf, said the Iraqi Judicial Authority issued an arrest warrant for Hussein a year ago, but that it was only being made public now after Interpol, the international police agency, issued a worldwide notice that Iraq was seeking her.
"We have a whole file of evidence against her," Khalaf said. "It is with the court. If you have the right connections you can see it. But basically she is accused of mass killings of Iraqis by funding terrorist groups."
Khalaf wouldn't specify which terrorist groups Hussein is accused of funding.
Hussein, like her father, is a Sunni Muslim. Sunni and Shiite groups have been battling each other and coalition forces for control of Iraq since 2003.
If found guilty, Khalaf said, Hussein would be punished with either life in prison or death.
In February, Hussein made a rare public appearance when she led a ceremony in Yemen shortly after her father's December 30 execution. She praised the deposed dictator and called him a hero and the true leader of the Arabs.
Saddam was tried by the Iraqi High Tribunal, a special court established to bring justice to those who committed crimes during the former regime. If arrested, Hussein likely would be tried by the Central Criminal Court, where politically sensitive cases and charges against suspected insurgents are handled.
Interpol's "red notice" for Hussein's arrest doesn't amount to an international warrant, but is intended to alert its member countries of a person's fugitive status and adds credibility to the charges brought by the Iraqi Government. Jordan is a member of Interpol. Efforts to reach Jordan authorities were unsuccessful.
Khalaf said the Iraqi Government's national security adviser has been in Jordan for the past week, trying to arrange Hussein's arrest. He brushed aside questions about whether the Jordanian Government would co-operate.
"It doesn't matter at this stage," Khalaf said. "As long as Interpol has issued an arrest warrant, the opportunity will come."
- REUTERS
