NAJAF, Iraq, March 17 (Reuters) - An influential Shi'ite cleric whose arrest last month by U.S. troops sparked protests said on Saturday the powers of the U.S. military in Iraq should be curtailed since they infringed on his nation's sovereignty. Ammar al-Hakim, son of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, one of Iraq's most powerful Shi'ite leaders, was speaking at a rally in the holy city of Najaf. "We should have a security agreement that defines the authority of each party. (U.S.-led) forces cannot have outright powers because this affects our sovereignty," he declared. Hakim also called for the release of all prisoners detained in Iraq who have no evidence against them. Freeing prisoners from U.S.-run jails has long been demanded by minority Sunni Arabs, who make up the backbone of the insurgency fighting the Shi'ite-led government and U.S. forces. "We ask for the speedy release of all prisoners that do not have evidence against them. Keeping thousands in detention is unacceptable," he told thousands of supporters. His father, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, heads the powerful Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the dominant political party in the Shi'ite-led government. Ammar al-Hakim, who was detained for a few hours at a border checkpoint as he returned from Iran, also has positions of power in SCIRI. Washington has about 140,000 troops in Iraq. Their presence in Iraq is governed by a United Nations Security Council resolution that is extended every six months at the request of the Iraqi government.
