Saddam's handover 'within days'

By Sebastian Usher
BBC world media correspondent

Saddam was seized last December - eight months after his regime fell

The head of Iraq's tribunal that will handle Saddam Hussein's trial says a deal on his handover to the Iraqis can be reached within the next two days.

Salim Chalabi also says the ousted Iraqi leader is being held in Iraq.

There has been no confirmation of where Saddam Hussein is being held since he was captured by the US last year.

Iraq's authorities have made it clear they want Saddam Hussein turned over to them before the transfer of power by the US-led coalition on 30 June.

The Americans have said they want to be sure the Iraqis can guarantee Saddam Hussein's security before handing over him.

Fine-tuning deal

In an interview with the pan-Arab news channel, al-Arabiya, Mr Chalabi said negotiations on the handover were at a very detailed stage and he believed a deal would be reached very soon, possibly within the next two days.

Saddam Hussein is not outside Iraq. He is in Iraq. He has been here for some time Salim Chalabi

But he acknowledged the practicalities of how the former Iraqi leader would be held were still under discussion.

"There are many ways to turn Saddam over," Mr Chalabi said.

"He might be held by the Iraqi government physically and the Iraqi government might have legal authority over him, but he might be guarded by a multinational force and so on. We have not worked these details out yet."

"Saddam Hussein is not outside Iraq. He is in Iraq. He has been here for some time," he added.

Last week, Mr Chalabi said a detention centre to hold Saddam Hussein had almost been completed.

Death penalty

Despite Mr Chalabi's confidence, some analysts doubt that Saddam Hussein is currently being held in Iraq, where the security situation remains unstable.

In an indication of the security problems in Iraq, Mr Chalabi was filmed by al-Arabiya with his back to the camera.

In an earlier interview on Sunday with the BBC, his appearance was also concealed.

In that interview, he said that Saddam Hussein could face the death penalty under Iraqi law - but that this would only be possible after a current moratorium on capital punishment put in place by the coalition authorities had been lifted.