Ireland should lead efforts to free an Iraqi scientist held "unlawfully" by US forces who could speed the reconstruction of the country, the Labour Party spokesman on foreign affairs said today.
Michael D. Higgins
Mr Michael D. Higgins said the detention of Dr Amer Saadi (66) in Baghdad is a "gross contradiction" to calls from the international community for the urgent reconstruction of Iraq.
Dr Saadi, the former industry minister in Iraq, managed the reconstruction of bombed power plants, roadways, bridges and other key infrastructure points in the aftermath of the Gulf War in 1991.
"It seems contradictory of the international community, to say the least, to make repeated calls for the speedy post-war reconstruction of Iraq, whilst permitting the US Army unlawfully detain a man who was responsible for reconstruction after the first Gulf War," said Mr Higgins.
"Dr Saadi has the same classification as the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and is being held in deplorable conditions - conditions which would seem to meet many of the criteria of torture. If he is guilty of crimes, he should be tried. If he is not, he should be released," Mr Higgins said.
I am calling on Minister Brian Cowen to take up the case of Dr Saadi with the United Nations and the United States Government immediately," he added.
Dr Saadi's high-profile encounters with UN weapons inspectors made him a media personality, and potential knowledge of the sites of alleged weapons of mass destruction made him No. 55 on the US "most wanted" list. He surrendered to the US military on April 11th, 2003, two days after the fall of Baghdad.
Dr Saadi is being held in solitary confinement in a small cell at Baghdad International Airport, though interrogators from the CIA and US Defense Department say they have concluded their debriefing,
The Irish Timesreported.