IRAQ'S former number two Tariq Aziz will testify against his old boss Saddam Hussein at the toppled dictator's trial for war crimes in return for his freedom, a British newspaper reported on Sunday.
The ex-deputy prime minister, 69, will have the most serious charges against him dropped and be allowed to spend his dotage in exile, where he wants to write a book about his life, The Sunday Telegraph said, quoting Mr Aziz's lawyer.
The one-time mouthpiece of Saddam's regime has agreed to plead guilty to minor charges under a deal that was reached after more than two years of negotiations, it said. Saddam is due to stand trial in a Baghdad courtroom on Wednesday over a 1982 massacre that could see him sentenced to death. Mr Aziz, however, will not be called to give evidence at this stage, The Sunday Telegraph said.
While Saddam has been accused of a litany of human rights abuses during his 24-year rule, this trial is limited to the murder of 143 Shiites that took place in the village of Dujail as a reprisal after an attack on his convoy. Mr Aziz's evidence will be more important when the former leader is tried on further charges of crimes against humanity, according to the newspaper report.
His lawyer, Badie Izzat Arief, was quoted as saying his client had "given them facts, well-known facts" in more than 300 interviews with US officials. During the interviews, Mr Aziz was questioned repeatedly about whether Saddam had signed execution orders. "They asked him whether the executions were decided by Saddam Hussein or the court," said Mr Arief. "He said that Saddam had the right to ratify or not. It depended on him." The lawyer said Mr Aziz, whom he described as being tired and suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes in his cell, would likely be sentenced to "time served", about three years, and freed.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16935646%255E1702,00.html
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