An Iraqi opposition group claimed on Tuesday that one of Iraqi President’s Saddam Hussein’s advisors, Sadeq Shaaban, had sought asylum in Sweden.
The Iran-harbored Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) was quoted by the official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA, as saying that Shaaban was a military engineer who had also served as ambassador to Sweden.
SCIRI also called Shaaban as a special advisor to President Hussein, calling him a close aide who escorted the leader on his tours outside Baghdad.
The group said that Shaaban had left Iraq for Jordan under the pretext that his wife was sick, but added that his ties with the Iraqi regime had soured because he was critical of the killing of Saddam's son-in-law, Hussein Kamel.
Kamel was the head of military industry in Iraq before he took refuge in Jordan in 1996 and accused his father-in-law of abusing the country.
Kamel was "tricked" into coming back to Baghdad, where he was killed, according to the official statement, by one of his angry relatives who had seen his dissidence as betrayal of the family and the country.
According to the SCIRI, Shaaban was insecure in Amman, so he fled to Sweden. The group claimed that Shaaban managed to gather a fortune via military and tourist projects under his leadership – Albawaba.com
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