BAGHDAD, Jan 25: Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein can only be tried in Iraq when the country regains sovereignty due to Geneva Conventions restrictions, International Committee of the Red Cross officials said on Sunday.

ICRC spokeswoman Nada Doumani said that since Iraq is under occupation, it cannot fully recognise the Conventions under which Saddam, declared a prisoner of war by the Pentagon this month, must be tried.

"Because the United States gave Saddam Hussein the status of prisoner of war, it can hand him over to Iraqi jurisdiction only when it returns sovereignty to the country it occupies," Doumani told AFP from Amman.

Article 12 of the Conventions says: "Prisoners of war may only be transferred by the detaining power to a power which is party to the Convention and after the detaining power has satisfied itself of the willingness and ability of such transferee Power to apply the convention."

Iraq stopped being a party to the Conventions when it was occupied last year. Under a deal signed in November, the US-led coalition occupying the country should cede power to a transitional Iraqi leadership by June 30.

"Today, he (Saddam) can only be judged by a military court of a sovereign state, or a special international court set up by a UN Security Council resolution," Doumai said.

Article 84 of the Geneva conventions says "a prisoner of war shall be tried only by a military court" and therefore it would be up to a military court of the United States or the coalition to judge him.

A trial before a US military court "does not prevent Saddam from being judged for international crimes, meaning crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocides," said the spokeswoman. On Wednesday, the ICRC said it was confident that it will soon be able to visit Saddam, who was captured on December 13, to check on his treatment in prison.

The ICRC oversees the Geneva Conventions, an internationally-recognised set of rules which guarantee minimum standards of treatment for prisoners of war and detainees, including the right to visits from aid workers.

The decision to treat Saddam as a POW angered the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council, made up of opponents to the former strongman who demanded that he stand trial in Iraq for crimes against humanity.-AFP