SANAA, Yemen, February 7, -- Saddam Hussein's
daughter Raghad and several Yemeni political groups
held a ceremony in the Yemeni capital to honor the
former Iraqi leader on Wednesday, 40 days after his
execution, in line with Islamic tradition.
"No one can ignore that he was a hero and one of the
Arab nation's symbols," Raghad told Wednesday's
gathering of several hundred in a Sanaa hall
decorated with pictures of her father.
"He met God with a clean heart and a clear
conscience," added Raghad, who arrived in the Yemeni
capital on Tuesday for the ceremony, also attended
by one of his lawyers.
Saddam was hanged on December 30 for crimes against
humanity after U.S. troops invaded his country in
2003 and toppled his Baathist government.
On the day of his execution, a source close Saddam's
family said Raghad, who lives in exile in Jordan,
had asked that her father be buried in Yemen, which
had urged the United States and Iraq against the
hanging, saying it would fuel violence in Iraq.
But he was buried in Awja, his home village in
northern Iraq near his two sons Uday and Qusay,
killed by U.S. troops in 2003.
The government had initially indicated Saddam's body
might be put in a secret, unmarked grave, fearing it
could become a pilgrimage site for Baathist rebels.
Saddam had supporters in several Arab countries
including Yemen, which angered Gulf Arab countries
and lost huge financial support for perceived
backing of Iraq during its 1990-1991 occupation of
Kuwait.
Saddam Hussein's wife and eldest daughter
Raghad
are among 41 people on the Iraqi government's
most
wanted list.
Raghad wanted for funds terrorism in Iraq, high
officials in former Baath
Party facilitate money transfers between her and the
terrorists.
Saddam's wife, Sajida Khairallah Tulfah, was No. 17,
just behind the ousted leader's eldest daughter,
Raghad. Sajida is believed to be in Qatar, and
Raghad lives in Jordan, where she was given refuge
by King Abdullah II.
"Raghad Saddam Hussein and her children are in
Jordan for purely humanitarian reasons, hosted and
protected by the Hashemite (Jordanian Royal Family)
as foreigners,". |
Raghad Saddam Hussein, daughter of the former Iraqi
dictator Saddam Hussein, attends a memorial services
to mark the 40th day of her father's death in Sanaa,
February 7, 2007, Reuters
Saddam Hussein's wife
and eldest daughter Raghad are among 41 people on
the Iraqi government's most wanted list. |
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