Jordan Times
Thursday, December 22, 2005
'Gov't has no
information on travel plans of former Iraqi officials released from jail'
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — Jordan will deny entry to former Iraqi
officials who were released from jail earlier this week if they arrive in the
Kingdom unannounced or without prior coordination, a senior official said on
Wednesday.
During his weekly press briefing, Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh said the
government has not received any notification about the travel of several former
Iraqi officials to the Kingdom after they were released from Iraqi jails.
“These are not ordinary citizens but rather former officials with a history of
political experience. Therefore, there should be coordination with the
government,” Judeh said.
According to news reports, about 24 senior former officials in Saddam Hussein's
government — including a biological weapons expert — were released from jail
earlier this week, and some have already left Iraq.
Quoting Iraqi lawyer Badee Izzat Aref, the Associated Press (AP) said the
release of the former officials was “an American-Iraqi decision and in line with
an Iraqi government ruling made in December 2004.”
It said the decision to release the officials had not been enforced until after
the elections in order to ease the political pressure in Iraq.
Although the names of those released were not disclosed to the press, news
reports said Rihab Taha and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, two weapons experts, were
among the freed officials.
Taha is a British-educated microbiological weapons expert, known as “Dr. Germ”
for her role in the making of biological weapons in the 1980s. While Ammash,
known as “Mrs. Anthrax,” was a biotech researcher and a former senior Baath
Party official.
A US military spokesman in Baghdad had said only eight individuals formerly
designated as high value detainees were released on Saturday after a board
process found that they were no longer a security threat and no charges would be
filed against them.
Aref told AP yesterday that most of those released were under the protection of
the American forces in Iraq until they find a “safe haven either in Iraq or
abroad.”
News reports had said the eight former officials would be flown into Jordan.
Journalists have been showing up at the airport for the past two days waiting to
interview or film the former officials.
But according to Judeh, there has not been any coordination by either Iraqi or
US officials with the government about the travel of these officials.
“The government has not been informed of anything. Like everyone else we saw
news reports saying the officials would be travelling to Jordan,” he added.