[JURIST] Jaafar al-Moussawi, the chief prosecutor in the trial of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archives] says he has been demoted and transferred from Baghdad to the northern city of Sulaimaniya after speaking out against the Iraqi High Tribunal [official website, JURIST news archive], according to Reuters Friday. Al-Moussawi claims he is being punished for criticizing "financial and ethical corruption" within the court, and for calling for the commutation of the death sentence of Saddam's former defense minister, Sultan Hashem Ahmed al-Jubouri al-Tai [TrialWatch profile]. Al-Moussawi said that the prosecution is independent of the tribunal and that only the presidency council has the power to transfer him. He insisted that he will not follow the transfer order.

The Iraqi High Tribunal was established in 2003 by the Iraqi Governing Council to focus on crimes committed under the Hussein regime. Al-Moussawi has been involved in the current crimes against humanity trial [JURIST report] of 15 former Iraqi officials for their roles in attacks against the Iraqi civilian population following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Reuters has more.