Thaindian News

Apr 06 (THAINDIAN NEWS) A warrant for the arrest of Raghad Hussein al Majid, the older daughter of the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein was issued on April 5. The warrant was a request from the current Iraqi administration. Raghad is accused of financing terrorism, and crimes against life, health, freedom and personal dignity.

The Jordanian Minister of State for Information and Communication, Dr. Nabil al-Sharif stated that the Jordanian government has not received any new requests from Interpol regarding Raghad. He stated ,”We have not received anything new from Interpol on this subject, and the last news that we received on this issue was when Interpol issued a so-called Red Notice on 23 November 2006 announcing that Mrs. Raghad was wanted. This was preceded by correspondence on 20 November of the same year between the Baghdad Interpol Division and the Amman Division that Raghad Saddam Hussein was accused in cases of financing terrorism, according to the bulletin.”

The suspect has both Iranian and Jordanian nationalities, and has been living in Jordan’s capital, Amman, for many years with her five children, as the guest of King Abdullah II. She and her husband, Hussein Kamel al-Majid both attempted to defect from Iraq to Jordan in 1996, but when they later returned to Iraq, her husband was killed. She has two sons and three daughters. She has reportedly not taken part in any political activity since 2006 out of respect for Jordanian hospitality.

Raghad organized a special committee to free her father in 2006. She also participated in demonstrations to support Hussein and personally paid for his attorneys. Saddam Hussein was executed by hanging on December 30, 2006. Raghad as well as her mother were both placed in a wanted list issued by Interpol several years ago, although Raghad’s mother was said to have not been involved in political activities. They are both suspected of cooperation with terrorists and embezzlement of state funds.