|
"This lapse is being aggressively investigated to
determine, if possible, who took the photos, and to
ensure existing procedures and directives are
complied with to prevent this from happening again."
'Compelling image'
The Sun refused to say how it got hold of the
pictures, or when they were taken, insisting it
needed to protect its sources.
It defended its decision to publish them.
"We thought long and hard about publishing, and took
the decision that they're such incredible pictures
of the world's most brutal dictator... they were a
compelling image that any newspaper or broadcaster
would publish," the paper's managing editor, Graham
Dudman, told the BBC News website.
The Sun cited US military sources saying they handed
over the pictures showing Saddam as "an ageing and
humble old man" in the hope of dealing a blow to the
resistance in Iraq.
"It's important that the people of Iraq see him like
that to destroy the myth," the paper said the source
said.
Saddam Hussein is awaiting trial on numerous charges
in Iraq, including murdering rivals, gassing Iraqi
Kurds and using violence to suppress uprisings.
It is not clear when he will go on trial.
The official US military statement said the pictures
might be a year old.
They show Saddam with a moustache, rather than the
beard he sported when he was captured in December
2003, and again when he appeared in court last July.
The Sun said the former Iraqi leader, 68, was
allowed black hair dye to disguise his grey hair.
The paper said Saddam Hussein is kept in a 12ft by
9ft (4m x 3m) cell "somewhere near Baghdad", that he
has a desk and a pink plastic chair "which he tends
to use as a bedside table".
He is watched round the clock through CCTV cameras,
even when he goes to the toilet, the paper said.
The source added that Saddam was one of the best
behaved prisoners they had had, it said.
www.bbc.co.uk
Top |
® 
