Trial for Iraqi vice president delayed

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BAGHDAD, May 3 (UPI) -- A terrorism trial for Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi was delayed one week after his lawyers said they want a special court to weigh the charges.

Hashemi, a Sunni, and members of his security team were charged by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of running a death squad. The charges developed shortly after U.S. combat forces left Iraq in December.

Hashemi fled the country shortly after the arrest warrant was issued. He's in Turkey where Defense Minister Naci Koru called on Maliki "to review his vision of the future."

Hashemi's lawyers said they wanted to postpone the trial and asked judicial authorities in Baghdad to set up a special court to consider the charges, the BBC reports.

The vice president, in an April interview with the British broadcaster, accused the Shiite prime minister of attempting to "regenerate the sectarian strife" in Iraq.

He claimed Iraqi security forces tortured his bodyguards into making false confessions. A member of his security team allegedly died from torture while in custody.

His trial would convene next Thursday.