[JURIST] Libyan leader Colonel Muhamar Gaddafi [BBC profile] has declared that Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] remains the legal leader of Iraq, citing the US-led invasion of the country as "a war waged against the wishes of the United Nations." In an interview with an Italian television news program, Gaddafi, who having gained power in 1969 is the Arab world's longest serving leader, claimed that Saddam is a prisoner of war under the Geneva Convention [text] and cannot be tried.

Gaddafi also condemned the practice of removing heads of state by sending in international troops, saying that other leaders, including himself, could be next. AFP has more.