The US military today condemned the publication of photographs showing Saddam Hussein in his prison cell.
The pictures, including one of Saddam in only his underwear, have been printed in the British newspaper the Sunand have angered US military officials, who have opened an investigation into who took and provided the photographs.
The paper splashed across its front page a photo of Saddam standing in his white underwear while folding what appeared to be brown pair of trousers.
Red Cross
Another colour photo printed inside showed Saddam wearing a white-coloured traditional Arab robe and sitting on plastic chair while handwashing some clothing.
The embarrassing photographs are expected to be regarded negatively throughout the Arab region, and anger some who still respect Saddam for standing up to the United States.
The Sunsaid it obtained the photos from "US military sources," adding that Saddam is being held in a 12-by-nine foot cell containing a small desk, a bed and a pink plastic chair. It said he is watched around the clock by three CCTV cameras and even monitored when using the toilet.
The US military in Baghdad said in an announcement that the photos violated military guidelines "and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals".
Saddam was captured in December 2003 while hiding in a hole in the ground near his home of Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad.
The US military said the source of the photos was not immediately known, but they were believed to have been taken more than a year ago.
"We take seriously our responsibility to ensure the safety and security of all detainees," a military statement said.
Aside from US soldiers, those who have access to the toppled dictator include his legal team, prosecuting judge Raed Johyee and officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Saddam's London-based legal adviser, Giovanni di Stefano, condemned the publication of the photos, saying: "It can't be right, can it, that you put a man in his underpants in the paper."
An ICRC spokeswoman said use of such photos is against the law and that US forces are obliged to "preserve the privacy of the detainee."
"Taking and using photographs of him is clearly forbidden," she said.
The US military has been on the defensive since the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, which involved the taking and release of photographs showing Iraqi detainees being mistreated by US soldiers working at the facility in western Baghdad.
AP