THE British-educated Iraqi microbiologist known as Dr Germ is among two dozen senior Baathist prisoners who have been freed after more than 2½ years in US detention, it was disclosed yesterday.

Although the demands of those holding the British hostage Norman Kember and three other peace activists include prisoner releases, coalition officials insisted that the decision to free Rihab Taha and the other detainees had nothing to do with the abductions.

In September last year when the fate of the British hostage Kenneth Bigley was in the balance there was speculation that Dr Taha would be released.

Huda Ammash, the US-trained scientist nicknamed Chemical Sally or Mrs Anthrax, has also been released. She and Dr Taha were both high-ranking members of Saddam Hussein’s party and had been accused of being central figures in his biological weapons programme.

Dr Taha was even named in the dossier on Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction that the British Government released in September 2002 to make the case for war.

Other high-value detainees released without charge from prison in the Iraqi capital in recent days include Humam Abd al-Khaliq, the former Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Like Dr Ammash, he featured in the 55 most wanted deck of cards released by the US military during the 2003 invasion.

The US military refused to confirm the identities of the freed prisoners but Iraqi officials, lawyers and relatives also named Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of the weapons inspections directorate, and Aseel Tabra, an Iraqi Olympic Committee apparatchik.

Lieutenant-Colonel Barry Johnson, a US military spokesman in Baghdad, said: “They were released as part of an ongoing process for many months in full consultation with the Iraqi Government.” They were no longer seen as a security threat. “Many had been held as suspects in possible war crimes and as material witnesses” in cases against the regime, but they “no longer were deemed to have information in this regard”.

The releases are widely seen as a form of “outreach” to Iraq’s restive Sunni minority, which is facing marginalisation under a Government led by its erstwhile Shia and Kurdish victims.

The timing of the women scientists’ release was particularly acute, with President Bush conceding his Administration’s “intelligence failure on weapons of mass destruction”.

Although some of the detainees were said to be heading for exile in Jordan after having their passports returned, there was confusion over their whereabouts. In Baghdad yesterday Osama al-Assaf, Dr Ammash’s nephew, told The Times that his family were at home awaiting word of her. “We have been told that they are going to release her, but we haven’t heard anything yet,” he said. In Jordan, officials indicated that the former Baathists would be less than welcome. The Hashemite kingdom recently suffered its worst suicide bombing. The triple attack has been widely seen as an overspill from the Iraq conflict. “A decision has been taken not to allow them in,” said one source. “We have instructed all our points of entry not to let them in. We cannot secure their safety, and Jordan is not a dumping ground.”

Hopes for Mr Kember, the kidnapped Briton, rose after the release of a German hostage at the weekend. Susanne Osthoff, an archaeologist and aid worker who converted to Islam and lived in Iraq for ten years, was released after being kidnapped on November 25. Her Iraqi driver was also freed.

But yesterday a group calling itself the Islamic Army of Iraq posted a video on an Islamic website purporting to show the “execution” of an American hostage named Ronald Schulz, an electrician from Alaska and a former US Marine. A man is shown kneeling with his back to the camera with his hands tied, and is shot several times. Although his face is not visible, the video shows what appears to be Mr Schulz’s identity card.

Across Iraq there were protests after the Government raised the price of petrol, heating and cooking oil just days after the election. Drivers blocked roads and burnt tyres near petrol stations after the announcement of a huge rise in the price of fuel, which was virtually free under Saddam. The Government said that a price rise would deter smuggling to countries where it can fetch higher prices.

DR GERM

Rihab Taha: Microbiologist who studied at the University of East Anglia from 1980 to 1984. Returned to Iraq to develop anthrax, botulinum toxin and other biological weapons for missile warheads. Claimed that Iraq had never “weaponised” biological weapons but UN inspectors found her 1990 notes recording tests on biological-tipped missile warheads.

CHEMICAL SALLY

Huda Salih Mehdi Ammash: “Five of hearts” in the US deck of cards depicting their most-wanted Iraqis. US-educated scientist and most senior woman member of the central Baath party regional command. Allegedly a “major player” in Saddam’s biotech and genetic programmes. Trained by Nassir al-Hindawi, the alleged father of Iraq’s biological weapons programme.

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