Watban Ibrahim al-Nasiri ( ar, وطبان إبراهيم الناصري‎; 1952 – 13 August 2015) was a senior

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. He was the

half-brother A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child. While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised separa ...

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...

and the brother of Barzan al-Tikriti. He was taken into

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

custody 13 April 2003, following his capture as he tried fleeing to

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. He died in prison of natural causes in 2015. As Saddam's half-brother, Watban was a close advisor of his, belonging to Saddam's inner circle while also holding several high-profile security apparatus roles. In those roles, he allegedly took part in the genocidal

Al-Anfal Campaign The Anfal campaign; ku, شاڵاوی ئەنفال or the Kurdish genocide was a counterinsurgency operation which was carried out by Ba'athist Iraq from February to September 1988, at the end of the Iran–Iraq War. The campaign targeted rur ...

against the Kurds in Northern Iraq. He became Interior Minister in 1991, and in that role was accused of having overseen the detention, torture, and executions of hundreds of prisoners. Some of those executions were reportedly taped, with copies kept at the ministry. As Interior Minister, Watban was also involved in suppressing the

1991 uprisings in Iraq The 1991 Iraqi uprisings were ethnic and religious uprisings in Iraq led by Shi'ites and Kurds against Saddam Hussein. The uprisings lasted from March to April 1991 after a ceasefire following the end of the Gulf War. The mostly uncoord ...

, specifically in the Baghdad suburbs of Thawra, Shu'la, Hurriya' Bayya', the village of Yousiffiya and the nearby districts of Mahmoudiyah. Government suppression of the uprising in these districts often involved mass executions. Watban was a member of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. Despite his high-profile roles, he was believed to not have been fully trusted by Saddam. In 1995, he was shot nine times in the leg by

Uday Hussein Uday Saddam Hussein ( ar, عدي صدام حسين; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and the eldest son of Saddam Hussein. He held numerous positions as a sports chairman, military officer and businessman, and was the hea ...

, Saddam's oldest son, reportedly during an argument over Watban's growing popularity among Iraqis. He reportedly lost his leg, genitals, and part of his stomach as a result. After the incident, Saddam ordered Watban to a position of relative obscurity in

Tikrit Tikrit ( ar, تِكْرِيت ''Tikrīt'' , Syriac: ܬܲܓܪܝܼܬܼ ''Tagrīṯ'') is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. , it h ...

. After the 2003

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

by a United States-led coalition, Watban was the five of spades in the U.S. military's

most-wanted Iraqi playing cards During the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States–led coalition, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency developed a set of playing cards to help troops identify the most-wanted members of President Saddam Hussein's government, mostly high-ran ...

. He was taken into coalition custody 13 April 2003, following his capture as he tried fleeing to Syria. On 11 March 2009, Watban was sentenced to death by hanging for his role in the execution of 42 merchants accused of manipulating

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing ...

. On the morning of 14 July 2011, the U.S. handed Watban over to Iraqi authorities, expecting that he would be executed within a month. Instead, he remained imprisoned until his death from natural causes on 13 August 2015. In 2017, Uday’s son Massoud claimed that his body was stolen by the Iranian government although this was never proven.

References

External links

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