Saddam's wife moves to Qatar

2004-03-31 20:30

Cairo - The wife of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has moved to the Qatari capital Doha after receiving permission from authorities there, the London-based al-Hayat newspaper said on Wednesday.

Sajida Kheirallah Talfah, who resided in Syria following the US-led coalition invasion of Iraq last March, moved to Doha on Monday, the newspaper quoted informed Jordanian sources as saying.

The sources said that Sajida, Saddam's first wife, had difficulties contacting her husband's defence team through Syrian authorities and asked to move to Qatar.

Sajida, the sources said, is considering moving to Jordan, where her two daughters Raghd and Rana have been staying since July. The other option, the sources said, is that the two daughters join their mother in Doha.

Meanwhile, Jordanian lawyer Mohammed al-Rashdan told al-Hayat that he received a written approval from both Sajida and Raghd to co-ordinate the defence team set up for Saddam.

The report comes following conflicting reports between al-Rashdan and French lawyer Jacques Verges who had announced that he would defend Saddam. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA