Iraqi Court Upset Over U.S. Release of Prisoners

The Iraqi High Tribunal, the special court trying ousted President Saddam Hussein and other leaders of his former government, on Wednesday publicly disagreed with a U.S. decision to release a group of high-profile prisoners.

A statement released by the court said the tribunal did not free the accused, who included Rihab Taha, known as Dr. Germ, and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, known as Mrs. Anthrax. The court said it would hunt them down and continue taking “judicial measures” against them.

The court statement came as an Iraqi lawyer said that U.S. forces were providing protection for most of the former prisoners, at least eight of whom were freed Saturday after American officials decided that they no longer posed a security threat.

The prisoners included Taha, who played a role in making bioweapons in the 1980s, and Ammash, a former top official in the Baath Party and a biotech researcher.

The lawyer, Badee Izzat Aref, said this week that as many as 25 ex-officials were released; the U.S. military confirmed only eight.

Aref said Wednesday that most of those released “are under the protection of the American forces in Iraq until they find a safe haven either in Iraq or abroad.”

He did not give details, and it was unclear whether the former officials were being kept in safe houses or whether they were elsewhere with U.S. guards.

Aref is the lawyer for several key detainees, including Tarik Aziz, Hussein’s former deputy prime minister, who is in U.S. custody.