U.S. Court Refuses to Spare Iraqi

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...901269_pf.html

The Associated Press
Friday, December 29, 2006; 8:11 PM

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. appeals court refused to block the military from sending a former top Iraqi official to his death Friday. A similar request by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is pending before a federal judge in Washington.

Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, was convicted and sentenced alongside Saddam. He asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to order the military not to turn him over to Iraqi officials.

The appeals court issued only a short order denying al-Bandar's request, removing a procedural hurdle before the execution is to be carried out.

Al-Bandar argued that his trial violated his rights under the U.S. Constitution, but the Justice Department argued that foreigners being tried in foreign courts are not protected by the U.S. Constitution.