By Baghdadhope
Source: Inquirer.net Agence France-Presse
AMMAN--Jordan has granted citizenship to the wife and sons of Iraq's jailed former deputy premier Tareq Aziz, who have lived in the kingdom since the 2003 US-led invasion, an official said on Tuesday.
"The council of ministers granted Jordanian citizenship on Monday to Saddam Tareq Aziz and his mother Violet Yusef Nobud," the official told AFP.
"The elder son, Ziad Tareq Aziz, and his wife, Seba Mzaffar Antwan, have been granted citizenship recently, upon their request," he said.
He gave no further details.
Named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991, Aziz, 73, turned himself in to US forces in April 2003 after Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
Aziz, who has been convicted for crimes against humanity, was from a Chaldean Catholic family.
One of a handful of long-term senior survivors of Saddam's regime, Aziz is reported to have suffered two heart attacks in custody.
About 4.4 million Iraqis have fled their homes since the 2003 invasion, with about 750,000 now living in neighbouring Jordan, according to UN and Jordanian figures.
Source: Gulf News AP
Tariq Aziz was the international face of Saddam Hussain's regime for several years. He was convicted to jail terms for the killing of Iraqi merchants and the forced displacement of Kurds in northern Iraq.
Amman: Jordan's Cabinet has granted citizenship to the wife and son of a top aide of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain.
Violet and Saddam Aziz, the wife and youngest son of former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, moved to Yemen last year when Saddam found a job as a dentist in the Yemeni capital.
A Jordanian Cabinet statement said on Tuesday that Violet, 68, and Saddam, 30, were granted citizenship on humanitarian grounds.
Aziz's eldest son, Ziad, who was also given a Jordanian citizenship last year, declined comment.
Tariq Aziz was the international face of Saddam Hussain's regime for several years. He was convicted to jail terms for the killing of Iraqi merchants and the forced displacement of Kurds in northern Iraq.
Amman: Jordan's Cabinet has granted citizenship to the wife and son of a top aide of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain.
Violet and Saddam Aziz, the wife and youngest son of former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz, moved to Yemen last year when Saddam found a job as a dentist in the Yemeni capital.
A Jordanian Cabinet statement said on Tuesday that Violet, 68, and Saddam, 30, were granted citizenship on humanitarian grounds.
Aziz's eldest son, Ziad, who was also given a Jordanian citizenship last year, declined comment.
Tariq Aziz was the international face of Saddam Hussain's regime for several years. He was convicted to jail terms for the killing of Iraqi merchants and the forced displacement of Kurds in northern Iraq.
