Olympic Games: IOC called on to expel Iraq committee

A human rights group has formally demanded that the International Olympic Committee expel Iraq's national Olympic committee, claiming its chief, the Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday, tortured and jailed athletes who failed to please him.

Indict, based in London, said it had lodged a complaint with the IOC's Ethics Commission. "Iraq has violated every single provision of the IOC Code of Ethics," said Charles Forrest, chief executive of Indict. "The IOC should have investigated this on its own. Now I hope it will be forced to."

Indict said Uday once made a group of track athletes crawl on newly-poured asphalt while they were beaten, and ordered that some be thrown off a bridge. It also alleged he ran a special prison for sportsmen who offended him.