»Iraqis given custody of Saddam«

Deposed leader Saddam Hussein is to appear in court Thursday after Iraq's interim government took legal custody of him.

The U.S.-led coalition transferred Saddam and 11 other high profile members of his former regime to Iraqi authorities on Wednesday.

After the transfer, which took place Wednesday morning, Saddam looked visibly shaken, Salem Chalabi, executive director of the Special Iraqi Tribunal said.

Saddam and his aides are no longer prisoners of war, although they will physically remain in coalition military hands until the Iraqi security apparatus is ready to hold them.

Legally, Saddam and his aides will be in Iraqi custody until their trials, which are not expected before next year.

Saddam was advised that he had the right to legal counsel, and he wanted to ask questions but was told he would be able to ask them during his court appearance Thursday, Chalabi said.

The former Iraqi leader is expected to be charged Thursday, however the formal indictment could take months.

Chalabi, the head of the Iraqi tribunal that will try Saddam and the others, said the tribunal's members are concerned at the possibility the prisoners could escape.

"That's why we reached this agreement with the coalition," said Salem Chalabi, executive director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal.

"I'm worried ... Clearly, my number one concern is the protection of the key personnel as well as the detainees."

It was not exactly clear who else apart from Saddam was handed over on Wednesday.

But among those expected to be in the first batch of transferred prisoners are some of the best-known figures in the deposed Baathist dictatorship, including former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, who often defended the regime internationally, and Ali Hassan al-Majid, dubbed "Chemical Ali" for his alleged role in the use of chemical weapons on Iraqi civilians.

Two of Saddam's half brothers are also in the first group, along with his vice president, defense minister and presidential secretary.

The detainees would face trial on charges of crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes at the Iraqi Special Tribunal set up late last year for this purpose, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi said Tuesday.

"We will likely not see the trial of Saddam and his associates for a number of months," the prime minister said. "I urge the Iraqi people to be patient."

Allawi said all the defendants would receive a fair trial.

"The accused will appear in front of the Iraqi court, and they will be afforded rights that were denied by the former regime," he said.

"The accused will have access to legal counsel and they will have the right to appoint legal counsel."

They also will have the right to represent themselves if they so choose, he said, raising the specter of a trial like that of Slobodan Milosevic.

The former Serbian president is serving as his own counsel at his international war crimes trial at The Hague in the Netherlands, and at times Milosevic has turned the proceedings into a propaganda showplace.

Allawi said of Saddam: "I don't think that he will be able to stage a propaganda tool, but it will be a full trial and an open trial."

Iraqi Justice Minister Malik Dohan al-Hassan, who appeared with Allawi at the news conference, added that some former regime officials who remain at large -- such as Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, the highest-ranking former official not in custody -- could face trial in absentia.

Of the U.S. Defense Department's 55 most wanted Iraqis, 45 are in custody. Saddam was captured in December by U.S. forces near his hometown of Tikrit.