Media track down Saddam's Body Guard...what should we do ?

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Former Saddam Hussein body guard, suspected of war crimes, being given safe haven...what should be done ?

quote:

Saddam bodyguard found in ******

******* - A former bodyguard to former Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein has been living in ******* for six years despite a finding against him that he was guilty of war crimes and was an illegal immigrant, media reports said Monday.

Human rights lawyer Graham Blewitt further alleged Monday that Oday Adnan Al Tekriti, 38, was living a comfortable life as an accountant in ******* while some of his victims were behind bars at the Baxter detention centre 350 kilometres away.

"There's absolutely no action being taken," Blewitt, a former war crimes investigator with the United Nations, told national broadcaster ABC.

******* said Tekriti had been denied a visa in 2000 but had won one on appeal to the independent Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

"I'm very concerned about these reports," ******* told parliament.

Tekriti, who has converted to Christianity and is married to a former member of parliament, has yet to comment on the claims.

The ******* Party's Tony Bourke, opposition immigration spokesman, said he had met people in *******'s Baxter detention centre who had been in immigration detention for up to five years after fleeing Saddam's regime.

"We can't have a situation where people who are genuinely fleeing an oppressive regime get locked up, while somebody who's acting on behalf of an oppressive regime roams free," he said.

 
I'd say that it's amazing that he holds the title of "former" body guard. The "late" usually follows dismissal from such a post ...or one would imagine.

It just goes to show you how much environment plays a role in a persons activities. Put a person in one place ..they're a thug. Move them to an unmentioned large island that's also considered a continent that likes to use heavier motor oils ...and what do you get? A mild mannered accountant that appears totally law abiding and civil.

I think all such people should have a mandatory tour to this fine place. It appears to have wonderous effects on their behavior
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It does have that affect. I watched the last U.S ambassador giving his farewell speech at the National Press Club here in Canberra and he told how his wife hadn't stopped crying for two weeks straight when they got the word to move on. He said the most memorable day in his life was being at Parliament House with many thousands holding candles in the nightime service for 9/11 victims. After also mentioning how sad he was to leave a journalist asked him if he felt like cutting his throat. He replied no....but! Very telling that
 
Vanstone to review Tikriti case
From: AAP
December 06, 2005


IMMIGRATION Minister Amanda Vanstone will review the case of a man fighting to stay in Australia amid claims he was one of Saddam Hussein's henchmen, she said today.

Senator Vanstone said the only information Oday al Tikriti had given authorities about Saddam's regime was a transcript of his original interview with authorities when he arrived in Australia.
But Mr Tikriti disputed information recorded in the interview that linked him to Saddam's regime, saying translation difficulties made comments about the general situation in Iraq sound as if they were specific remarks about himself.

Currently living in Adelaide with his Singaporean-born wife of two years, former South Australian Liberal MP Bernice Pfitzner, Mr Tikriti has also applied for a spouse visa.

Senator Vanstone said today she would "calmly" review his case, despite demands from Labor and the South Australian Government for more information.

"I will have a look at the whole matter calmly. I don't think it's appropriate to have a knee-jerk reaction to calls from people to do things," she said.

"These files should be considered on (their) merits and should be considered calmly and in light of the law and in light of Australia's long term national interest."
The Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) refused Mr Tikriti a visa, when he arrived illegally in Australia on a boat from Indonesia six years ago, saying there were serious reasons to consider he had committed crimes against humanity in Iraq.

But the department's decision was overturned on appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and Mr Tikriti was granted a temporary protection visa in June this year.

Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said on ABC radio today she had asked the department to further investigate Mr Tikriti.

"I have asked the department to look at what further information we either now have or could get that pertains to his case and I think that is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, but he has by virtue of an AAT decision, a temporary protection visa," she said.

The visa would be reassessed in three years, but Senator Vanstone said if the department had information before that period ended the Government could cancel the visa.

"This is one of those wonderfully ironic situations," she said.

"People have often said we don't like temporary protection visas but I imagine in this instance they are very pleased that Mr Tikriti will come up for review at a guaranteed point in time."

"He was refused and the department appealed and we won that appeal," Senator Vanstone said.

"My understanding is that a subsequent application has been put in."
 
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