Iraq PM asks Bush to order Saddam cousin's handover

By Wisam Mohammed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The Iraqi government has asked U.S. President George W. Bush to order the handover of Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali", and two other former officials convicted of genocide, so they can be executed.

Saddam's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, former Defence Minister Sultan Hashem and former army commander Hussein Rashid Muhammad are being held in U.S. military custody while officials argue over who has the authority to transfer them for execution.

They were convicted of genocide for their roles in a campaign against Iraq's Kurds in 1988, but the U.S. military has said it will not hand them over until it receives what it calls an "authoritative government of Iraq request".

What constitutes such a request is at the centre of a row between Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's Shi'ite-led government and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, and Sunni Arab Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told Reuters on Friday Maliki had sent a letter to Bush last week in which he "demanded the three convicts be handed over".

"The U.S. forces do not have the right to interfere in a (judicial) case and decide whether it was legal or not," Dabbagh said. "Only Iraqi authorities have the right to do so."

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad had no comment on the letter.

Maliki has said the U.S. embassy in Baghdad has played an "unfortunate role" in preventing the handover of the three.