The Iraqi government announced an amnesty yesterday for all Iraqi prisoners in an apparent attempt to rally domestic and international support in the face of US determination to topple it.
The government called the amnesty, which includes political prisoners, a way of thanking the nation for re-electing President Saddam Hussein last week in a referendum.
A statement attributed to Saddam, read on national television by Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhafa, said the "full and complete and final amnesty" applied to "anyone imprisoned or arrested for political or any other reason."
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, interviewed yesterday on ABC's This Week, said the amnesty was a political ploy by Saddam.
"This is typical of this man's use of human beings for these political purposes of his," Powell said.
"This is the kind of manipulation he uses to try to paint himself as something other than what he is, a brutal dictator," he said.
Amnesty International accuses Iraq of holding tens of thousands of political prisoners and of torturing and executing its political opponents.
There was no figure available as to how many inmates the amnesty covered.
Iraqi television showed men leaving a prison carrying their belongings in plastic shopping bags and chanting, "We sacrifice our blood and souls for Saddam."
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