Lawyer appeals for release of Tariq Aziz

ROME, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- The lawyer for former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz called on Pope Benedict XVI to facilitate his release from custody to mark the Christmas season.

Aziz, a Chaldean Christian, surrendered to U.S. forces April 23, 2003.

The 72-year-old Aziz, who also served as the deputy premier, is facing war crimes charges in an Iraqi court along with seven co-defendants for allegedly ordering the execution of several businessmen who had protested rising food prices in the wake of U.N. sanctions on the former regime.

"The pope should be interested in the issue of Tariq Aziz and ask for his release, especially during the Christmas festivities," his lawyer, Badye Arif, told the Italian news agency Adnkronos International.

All detainees in U.S. custody will be transferred to Iraqi authority in January when a Status of Forces Agreement between Washington and Baghdad takes force.

Arif said he feared Aziz would be "eliminated" once Iraqi authorities transferred him from a detention facility near Baghdad International Airport to the Iraqi al-Athimiya prison.

Aziz was the Eight of Spades in the U.S. deck of cards showing the most wanted officials from the regime of Saddam Hussein. He has been held in U.S. custody since his surrender.