Lawyer pleads for Saddam's life « Thread Started on Dec 29, 2006, 5:43am » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Lawyer pleads for Saddam's life Asks world leaders to prevent U.S. from handing him over to be hanged the associated press Tucson, Arizona | Published: 12.29.2006BAGHDAD — Saddam Hussein's chief lawyer implored world leaders Thursday to prevent the United States from handing over the ousted leader to Iraqi authorities for execution, saying he should enjoy protection from his enemies as a "prisoner of war." The plea from Saddam's attorney came as the U.S. military reported the deaths of five more troops and announced that Iraqi forces, backed by American forces, captured an al-Qaida in Iraq cell leader believed responsible for the June kidnapping of two soldiers who were found tortured and killed. With at least 72 more Iraqis killed in sectarian violence, U.S. officials and Iraqis expressed concern about the potential for even worse bloodshed after Saddam's execution. The lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said transferring Saddam to Iraqi authorities could be the trigger. "If the American administration insists in handing the president to the Iraqis, it would commit a great strategic mistake which would lead to the escalation of the violence in Iraq and the eruption of a destructive civil war," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Iraq's highest court on Tuesday rejected Saddam's appeal against his conviction and death sentence for the killing of 148 Shiites in the northern city of Dujail in 1982. The court said the former president should be hanged within 30 days. "According to the international conventions, it is forbidden to hand a prisoner of war to his adversary," al-Dulaimi said. read at source> http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/162357