A QATARI member of the defence team of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein said Tuesday he believed any request for the handover of Saddam's wife by Qatar after she was named on Iraq's "most wanted" list would be doomed. Najib al-Nuaimi, a former justice minister, said he did not expect Interpol to ask Qatar to extradite Sajida Hussein to Iraq. Sajida, who was included in a 41-strong list of most wanted fugitives unveiled Sunday, has long been believed to be living in Qatar, although Qatari officials do not publicly discuss the issue. "The list is illegal from the standpoint of international law, and Interpol abides by a series of rules it will not get around," Mr Nuaimi said. These include a court conviction for a specific crime against the person whose handover is demanded, he said. "The absence of treaties for the extradition of criminals between the current Iraqi government and other countries, including Qatar, would complicate any request by the Iraqi government to its Qatari counterpart for the handover of Sajida," Mr Nuaimi said.
The wanted list also includes Saddam's eldest daughter Raghad, who lives in Amman. The Jordanian government, which like Qatar is an ally of the United States, said after the list was issued that while no formal extradition request had yet been received from Iraq, Saddam's daughter had complied with the conditions of her asylum in Jordan and remained under the protection of the Hashemite royal family of King Abdullah II. Sajida was believed to be a major source of "guidance, logistical support and funding for the Iraq insurgent leadership and has access to substantial assets stolen by Saddam", the Iraqi government said.