Amer al-Sadi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Al-Sadi at a press conference on the practical arrangements for the return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq (1 October 2002) | |
| Minister of Industry | |
| In office 6 April 1991 – 5 September 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Hussein Kamel al-Majid |
| Succeeded by | Hussein Kamel al-Majid |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1938-04-05)5 April 1938 (age 87) Baghdad, Iraq |
| Occupation | Chemist, politician |
Amir Hamudi Hasan al-Saadi (Arabic:عامر حمودي حسن السعدي) orAmer al-Sadi (born April 5, 1938), "the organizational genius behind the Iraqi superweapons program,"[1] wasSaddam Hussein's liaison with the UN inspectors in the runup to the2003 invasion of Iraq. Like the defectorHussein Kamel al-Majid, he insisted Iraq had destroyed its prohibited weapons. He was dismissed by the US as a liar. There was a subsequent failure to uncoverweapons of mass destruction by theIraqi Survey Group.
He was #32 on themost-wanted list, and "Seven of Diamonds" inthe US deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards.
He turned himself in to coalition forces on April 12, 2003, with the help ofZDF journalists who he asked to monitor and document his surrender. He was detained inBaghdad International Airport as a "High Value Detainee". As such he has been subjected tosolitary confinement for 23 hours a day. TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross stated in its confidential report to the coalition authority that this constituted a "serious violation of the Third and FourthGeneva Conventions". He was both the first person on the most wanted list to turn himself in, and the first to be detained by the U.S.
According to a written Parliamentary answer[2] by Dennis Mcshane MP to Angus Robertson MP, Amer Al Saadi was released by the US on 18 January 2005. However, as detailed here,[3] this claim is highly dubious. A June 20, 2005 Newsweek article[4] reported that a "State Department official...denied al-Sadi had been freed from custody."
He was awarded a PhD is inphysical chemistry fromBattersea College of Technology. During his study he married a German, Hilma, inLondon in October 1963; their common language is English. Mrs al-Saadi raised their children inHamburg.
He retired as lieutenant general in 1994 and was made a presidential scientific advisor. His friendAla Bashir mentioned that al-Sadi was totally paralyzed and hosted in Qatar.[5] In 2017, theIraqi Council of Representatives included him among those whose tangible and intangible assets were to be confiscated.[6]