Uday Saddam Hussayn al-Tikriti (June 18, 1964 – July 22, 2003), was the eldest son of
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and his first wife,
Sajida TalfahSajida Khairallah Talfah , born 1937, is the widow and cousin of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and mother of two sons and three daughters . She is the oldest daughter of Khairallah Talfah.-Early Life:...
. He was the older brother of
Qusay HusseinQusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti was the second son of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir apparent in 2000.-Family:...
. Uday was for several years seen as the
heir apparentAn heir apparent is an heir who cannot be displaced from inheriting.An heir presumptive, by contrast, is an heir currently in line to inherit a title, but who could be displaced at any time by certain events.Today these terms most commonly describe heirs to hereditary titles, particularly monarchies...
of his father, however Uday lost this after his erratic behavior and troubled relationship with his father and brother. Following the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, he was killed at age 39 by a secretive combined Special Forces Task Force (
Task Force 20Task Force 20 is a designation that has been used by several United States Department of Defense units.-United States Navy:Task Force 20 is one of the task force designators assigned to the United States Second Fleet in the Atlantic...
) during a brief gunfight in
MosulMosul is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some 400 km northwest of Baghdad...
.
Uday produced the newspaper
BabelBabel is an Iraqi newspaper which was under the direction of Uday Hussein, the son of Saddam Hussein.See also:* Babel...
and a local Iraqi TV channel called "Al-shabab TV". He was briefly married to the daughter of Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri, who was Vice President and Deputy Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, but he later
divorceDivorce or dissolution of marriage is the final termination of a marriage, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between two persons...
d her.
Biography
Uday Saddam was born in Baghdad to
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and
Sajida TalfahSajida Khairallah Talfah , born 1937, is the widow and cousin of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and mother of two sons and three daughters . She is the oldest daughter of Khairallah Talfah.-Early Life:...
while his father was in prison. Although he was of legal age for military service during the Iran–Iraq War, Uday did not volunteer to fight, nor was he conscripted into the Iraqi military, as were most of his countrymen.
Uday graduated from high school almost effortlessly with unusually high marks (almost 100% average for the 6 subjects). Initially, he started his University days in Baghdad University College of Medicine. He only lasted in the Medical College for 3 days then moved to College of Engineering about a kilometer away. Uday earned a degree in
engineeringEngineering is the discipline, art and profession of acquiring and applying technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and processes that safely realize a desired objective or inventions.The American Engineers' Council...
from Baghdad University, graduating top of his class of 76 students, after threats were found in the teachers' homes .
Although his status as Saddam's eldest son made him Saddam's prospective successor, Uday fell out of favor with his father. In October 1988, at a party in honor of
Suzanne MubarakSuzanne Mubarak is married to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and is the first lady of Egypt. The daughter of an Egyptian doctor and Welsh nurse Lily May Palmer...
, wife of
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
ian
PresidentThe President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the elected Head of State of Egypt.Under the Constitution of Egypt, the President is also the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and head of the Executive branch of the Egyptian government....
Hosni MubarakMuhammad Hosni Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, Muhammad Hosni Mubarak, , (born 4 May 1928), is the 4th and current President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. He was appointed Vice President in 1975, and assumed the presidency on...
, Uday murdered his father's personal
valetValet and Varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer. In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
and food taster, Kamel Hana Gegeo (some say at the request of his mother). Before an assemblage of horrified guests, an intoxicated Uday bludgeoned Gegeo with a cane, reputedly administering the
coup de grâceThe expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to killing civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies and with or without the consent of the sufferer...
with an
electric carving knifeAn electric knife or electric carving knife is an electrical kitchen device used for slicing hard-to-slice foods. The advantage of an electric knife is less physical effort is required and it is easier to make cleaner slices. The device consists of two serrated blades that are clipped together...
. Gegeo had recently introduced Saddam to a younger woman,
Samira ShahbandarSamira Shahbandar was allegedly Saddam Hussein's second wife. She is supposedly the mother of his third son, Ali, though members of Saddam's family claim that Ali is actually his grandson. Samira Shahbandar is of Iranian descent.-Biography:...
, who later became Saddam's second wife. Uday considered his father's relationship with Shahbandar an insult to his own mother. He furthermore feared losing succession to Gegeo, whose loyalty and fidelity to Saddam Hussein were unquestioned.
As punishment for the murder, Saddam briefly imprisoned his son. The original sentence was eight years; Uday probably served only three months in a
private prisonA private prison, jail, or detention center is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned by a third party that is contracted by a local, state or federal government agency...
. In response to personal intervention from
King HusseinHussein bin Talal was the King of Jordan from the abdication of his father, King Talal, in 1952, until his death...
of
JordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in Western Asia spanning the southern part of the Syrian Desert down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Jordan shares borders with Syria to the north, Iraq to the northeast, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, the Gulf of Aqaba to the southwest,...
, Saddam released Uday,
banishingBanishment may refer to* The Banishment, a 2008 film by Andrey Zvyagintsev* Exile...
him to
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
as the assistant to the Iraqi
ambassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents their country. They are usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of their country....
there. He was expelled by the Swiss government after he threatened to stab someone in a
restaurantA restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
.
Saddam later appointed Uday head of the Iraqi
OlympicThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
committee, and subsequently the head of one of Saddam's security organizations. In the former role he
tortureTorture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of...
d athletes who failed to win. Uday seemed proud of his reputation and called himself
abu sarhan,
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
for "father of the wolf."
Uday sustained permanent injuries during an
assassinationAn Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure.Assassinations may be prompted by ideological, political, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by financial gain, revenge, personal public recognition, or mental illness....
attempt in December 1996. Struck by eight bullets while driving his
PorschePorsche SE is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury high performance automobiles, which is majority-owned by the Piëch and Porsche families. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG , often shortened to Porsche AG, is responsible and manufacturer of the Porsche automobile line...
, Uday was initially believed to be
paralyzedParalysis is the complete loss of muscle function for one or more muscle groups. Paralysis can cause loss of feeling or loss of mobility in the affected area.-Causes:Paralysis is most often caused by damage to the nervous system, especially the spinal cord...
. Evacuated to
Ibn Sina HospitalIbn Sina Hospital is a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq which was built by four Iraqi doctors - Modafar Al Shather, Kadim Shubar, Kasim Abdul Majeed and Clement Serkis - in the mid-1960s. It was purchased for a fraction of its true value by the Iraqi government for use by Saddam Hussein, his family and...
, he eventually recovered but with a noticeable limp. Despite repeated operations, however, a bullet remained lodged in his
spineIn human anatomy, the vertebral column is a column usually consisting of 33 vertebrae, the sacrum, intervertebral discs, and the coccyx situated in the dorsal aspect of the torso, separated by spinal discs...
and could not be removed due to its location near the
spinal cordThe spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular bundle of nervous tissue and support cells that extends from the brain. The brain and spinal cord together make up the central nervous system. It is around 45 cm long in men and around 43 cm long in women. The length of the spinal cord is much shorter than...
. In the wake of Uday's subsequent disabilities, Saddam gave his younger brother Qusay increasing responsibility and authority, later designating him as his heir apparent in 2000.
Uday opened accounts with
Yahoo!Yahoo! Inc. is an American public corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, , that provides Internet services worldwide...
and MSN Messenger, which caused controversy when the accounts violated U.S. trade sanctions against Iraq .
Body double
Uday is known to have used a
body doubleA political decoy is a person employed to impersonate a politician, in order to draw attention away from the real person or to take risks on their behalf...
named
Latif YahiaDr. Latif Yahia is an Iraqi born author and former military officer in the Iran-Iraq War. Latif was forcibly recruited to be the body double of Saddam Hussein's eldest son Uday Hussein.-Biography:...
.
Yahia attended the same school as Uday when they were children (from approximately age 12 onwards) and it is alleged that he was forcibly recruited and 'groomed' as Uday's double around the same time. It is also claimed that, as he grew older, Yahia underwent extensive plastic surgery to enhance his resemblance to Uday. After surviving eleven assassination attempts targeted at Uday, Yahia successfully fled Iraq in
DecemberDecember is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days....
1991. Yahia wrote a book detailing his life and the life he lived as Uday's body double in his book
I Was Saddam's Son. Yahia's story never received much widespread media coverage
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/breakfast_with_frost/2991520.stm until after the
2003 invasion of IraqThe 2003 invasion of Iraq, was led by the United States, backed by British forces and smaller contingents from Australia, Denmark, Poland and Spain. Four countries participated with troops during the initial invasion phase, which lasted from March 20 to May 1...
.
Allegations of crimes or misconduct
A report released on 20 March 2003, by ABC news detailed several allegations against Uday:
- As head of the Iraqi Olympic
The Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
Committee, Uday oversaw the imprisonment and tortureTorture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is:In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of...
of Iraqi athletes who were deemed not to have performed to expectations. According to widespread reports, torturers beat and canedCaning is a form of corporal punishment consisting of a number of hits with a cane usually made of rattan, generally applied to the offender's bare or clothed buttocks or hand . Application of a cane to the knuckles or the shoulders has been much less common...
the soles of the football players' feet — inflicting intense pain without leaving visible marks on the rest of their bodies. Uday reportedly kept scorecards with written instructions on how many times each player should be beaten after a poor showing. One defectorIn politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
reported that jailed football players were forced to kick a concreteConcrete is a construction material composed of cement as well as other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water, and chemical admixtures...
ball after failing to reach the 1994 World CupThe FIFA World Cup, occasionally called the Football World Cup, but usually referred to simply as the World Cup, is an international football competition contested by the men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
finals. Iraqi National Football team were seen with their heads shaved after failing to achieve a good result in a tournament in 1980s. It was widely circulated that Uday ordered the shaving as part of the punishment. Another defector claimed that athletes were dragged through a gravelGravel is rock that is of a specific particle size range. Specifically, it is any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters in its smallest dimension and no more than . The next smaller size class in geology is sand, which is > in size. The next larger size is cobble, which is >. Gravel can...
pit and subsequently immersed in a sewage tank to induce infectionAn infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning of the...
in the victims' wounds.
Other allegations include:
- Allegedly kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or asportation of a person against the person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
young Iraqi women from the streets in order to rape them. Uday was known to intrude on parties and otherwise "discover" women whom he would later rape. TimeTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
published an article in 2003 detailing his sexual brutality. In one such instance, he accosted a young woman who was walking with her husband, where Uday said her husband was a nobody, despite him wearing a uniform showing him to be a captain in the Iraqi Army. Uday then ordered his men to grab the girl, to which her husband struck Uday in defense of his wife, and was apprehended by Uday's bodyguards. The wife was raped and later murdered, and the husband was sentenced to deathCapital punishment or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences....
for "high treasonHigh treason is criminal disloyalty to one's country. Participating in a war against one's country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps the...
against Saddam".
- Alleged self-indulgence in an era of widespread privation. When U.S. troops captured his mansion in Baghdad, they found a personal zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
stocked with lions and cheetahs; an underground parking garage for his collection of luxury cars; paintings glorifying him and his mother with Saddam (which was known to have infuriated his father); Cuban cigars inscribed with his name; and millions of dollars worth of fine wines, liquor and heroinHeroin, or diacetylmorphine , also known as diamorphine , is a semi-synthetic opioid drug synthesized from morphine, a derivative of the opium poppy. It is the 3,6-diacetyl ester of morphine...
. An HIVHuman immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid,...
testing kit was also found among his personal effects. He amassed hundreds of millions of US dollars by running facade corporations illegally trading with Iran (although, at that time, UN restrictions did not allow foreign trading. Only later, Iraq was allowed to import certain commodities such as food and medical supplies legally under the UN Oil-For-Food programme).
- Usage of an iron maiden
An iron maiden is a torture device, consisting of an iron cabinet, with a hinged front, sufficiently tall to enclose a human being...
on persons running foul of him.
- Allegedly Uday beat an army officer unconscious when the man refused to allow him to dance with his wife; the man later died of his injuries. Uday also shot and killed an army officer who did not salute him.
- Uday purchased or stole approximately 1,200 luxury vehicles
Luxury vehicle is a marketing term for a vehicle that provides luxury — pleasant or desirable features beyond strict necessity at increased expense ....
, including a Rolls-Royce CornicheThe Corniche was Rolls-Royce's coupé and convertible version of the Silver Shadow produced between 1971 and 1996. The Corniche was named "Silver Shadow Mulliner Park Ward two door fixed head coupé " before 1971 when the Corniche name was applied.The exterior design was by John Polwhele Blatchley...
valued at over $200,000. Uday is reported to have arrived at a polling stationA polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections....
during a referendumA referendum , ballot question, or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal...
on his father's regime in a pink Rolls-Royce.
- According to a new report, Hussein plotted in 2000 to assassinate a leader of an Iraqi opposition group. The report states Uday wanted to kill Ahmed Chalabi
Ahmed Abdel Hadi Chalabi was interim oil minister in Iraq in April-May 2005 and December-January 2006 and deputy prime minister from May 2005 until May 2006. Chalabi failed to win a seat in parliament in the December 2005 elections, and when the new Iraqi cabinet was announced in May 2006, he was...
, the leader of the Iraqi National CongressThe Iraqi National Congress is an umbrella Iraqi opposition group led by Ahmed Chalabi. It was formed with the aid and direction of the United States government following the Gulf War, for the purpose of fomenting the overthrow of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.-History:INC was set up following the...
.
Death
On 22 July 2003,
Task Force 20Task Force 20 is a designation that has been used by several United States Department of Defense units.-United States Navy:Task Force 20 is one of the task force designators assigned to the United States Second Fleet in the Atlantic...
, aided by troops of the U.S. Army
101st Airborne DivisionThe 101st Airborne Division — the "Screaming Eagles"— is a U.S. Army modular infantry division trained for air assault operations. During World War II, it was renowned for action during the Normandy Landings and in the Battle of the Bulge...
, had a showdown with Uday, Qusay and Qusay's 14-year-old son
MustaphaMustapha Qusay Hussein al-Tikriti was the son of Qusay Hussein, and grandson of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein....
during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of
MosulMosul is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some 400 km northwest of Baghdad...
. He had been the Ace of Hearts on the
most-wanted Iraqi playing cardsIn the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition, the U.S. military developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of President Saddam Hussein's government, mostly high-ranking Baath Party members or members of the Revolutionary Command Council...
(with Qusay being the Ace of Clubs). Acting on a tip from an unidentified Iraqi, the blocking element from the 101st Airborne Division provided security while the Task Force 20 operators attempted to apprehend the inhabitants of the house. After U.S. troops
hotwiredHot-wiring is the process of bypassing an automobile's ignition interlock and thus starting it without the key. It is used primarily as either a way to commit grand theft auto or as a worst-case-scenario for car owners who have lost their car keys.-Methods:...
Uday's
LamborghiniAutomobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian automaker based in the small township of Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company was founded in 1963 by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini...
, he revealed himself, upon which a gunfight ensued. The assault element withdrew to request backup. As many as 200 American troops, later aided by OH-58 Kiowa helicopters and an
A-10 "Warthog"The A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force to provide close air support of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles, and other ground targets with a limited air interdiction...
, surrounded and fired upon the house. After approximately four hours of battle, soldiers entered the house and found four bodies, including the Hussein brothers' bodyguard.
On 23 July 2003, the American command said that
dental recordsDental Records is a small, independent record label, based in Ipswich, UK.-Releases:*DRCD0501 The Ballistics - Allow Me To Demonstrate*DRCD0601 Singled Out - Hardcore Seanography*DRCD0602 The Ballistics - The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane...
had conclusively identified two of the dead men as
Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the President of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
's sons. They also announced that the informant (possibly the owner of the villa in
MosulMosul is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some 400 km northwest of Baghdad...
in which the brothers were killed) would receive the combined $30 million award previously offered for their apprehension.
Furthermore, the owner of the villa, Nawaf az-Zaydan, who is distantly related to Saddam, was granted U.S.
citizenshipCitizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, or national community.Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
and permitted to depart from Iraq. Locals said Zeidan had tipped off United States forces that Saddam's sons were staying there. In what was likely an act of revenge, on 5 June 2004, Zeidan's brother Salaah al-Zeidan was killed, and three of his male relatives (including an eight-year-old boy) traveling in the same vehicle were wounded by unknown assassins
The
Bush AdministrationThe Presidency of George W. Bush began on his inauguration on January 20, 2001 as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
was criticized for displaying a
double standardThe term double standard, coined in the early 1950s, refers to any set of principles containing different provisions for one group of people than for another...
— publishing photos of the dead brothers despite condemning Saddam for releasing images of American prisoners of war. The U.S. military's response was to point out that these men were no ordinary combatants and to express hope that confirmation of the deaths would bring closure to the
Iraqi peopleThe Iraqi people or Mesopotamian people are natives or inhabitants of the country of Iraq, known since antiquity as Mesopotamia , and by virtue of a wide-ranging diaspora, throughout the Arab world, Europe, the Americas and Australasia...
. When photos of Americans killed at
NasiriyahNasiriyah is a city in Iraq. It is on the Euphrates River about 225 miles southeast of Baghdad, near the ruins of the ancient city of Ur. It is the capital of the province of Dhi Qar...
[in March 2003] were published, U.S generals declared it was a violation of the Geneva Convention.
Uday was buried in a cemetery near
TikritTikrit is a town in Iraq, located 140 km northwest of Baghdad on the Tigris river...
alongside Qusay and Qusay's son Mustapha.
External links