Latif Nassif Jassim, media minister under Saddam Hussein and prominent member of his regime, passed away after a chronic illness, announced authorities in Iraq’s southern Dhi Qar province on Monday.
Jassim, 80, was jailed at the Nasiriyah Central Prison, which is known as al-Hoot, where several members of the former regime are detained.
At the appeal of his family, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had ordered that he receive treatment outside of prison. He was consequently being treated at a hospital in Baghdad where he passed away on Monday.
This marked the first time that a prime minister responds to an appeal from the family of a prominent member of the list of 55 most-wanted Iraqi officials from Saddam’s regime that was put out by invading American forces.
The list had included Saddam, his sons and siblings and members of the revolutionary council and Baath party. Jassim and other ministers, such as former interior and foreign minister Tariq Aziz and defense minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed, were on the list.
The detention of Aziz and Hashem Ahmed had stirred the most controversy and demands for their release. The demands fell on deaf ears with both former officials dying in prison.
Saddam’s former intelligence chief, Saber al-Douri, remains behind bars in spite of dozens of demands for his release from the predominantly Shiite Karbala province.
Residents of the province believe that Douri was among the best governors to have ruled the province even though he is a Sunni and hails from the Salaheddine province.
Jassim joined the Baath party in 1957. He served in Saddam’s regime for three decades, occupying various media posts, as well as the positions of minister of media and agriculture. He was also a close friend of the former ruler and one his most loyal aides.
As media minister, he rose to prominence during the Iraq-Iran war (1980-88) where he was played a role in war propaganda.
He was arrested in 2003 shortly after the US invasion and sentenced to life in jail. He was serving his sentence at the Nasiriyah Central Prison.
