Indict said the Iraqi leader's son 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 athletes who offended him.

"The Iraqi committee is the only Olympic committee in the world with its own prison and torture chamber," said Ann Clwyd, a British lawmaker who also is chairwoman of Indict. "To allow (it) to participate in the Olympic movement is to mock all of the Olympics' high principles."

Iraq was investigated in 1997 by FIFA, the international soccer governing body, following allegations that members of the Iraqi national team were tortured because they lost a key match.

» CNN.com - Group accuses Iraq of torturing athletes - Dec. 5, 2002