Saddam Hussein's aide Tariq Aziz dies in Iraqi hospital

PanARMENIAN.Net - Tariq Aziz, known as the face of Saddam Hussein's regime on the world stage for many years, has died in an Iraqi hospital, officials said, according to BBC News.

Aziz, 79, served as foreign minister and deputy prime minister and was a close adviser to the former leader. He was sentenced to death by the Iraqi Supreme Court in 2010 for the persecution of religious parties under Saddam's rule but was never executed.

He surrendered to U.S. troops in 2003 shortly after the fall of Baghdad.

A local health official told reporters that he was taken to hospital from prison after suffering a heart attack. Initial reports said he had died in prison.

He had long been in poor health, suffering from heart and respiratory problems, high blood pressure and diabetes, and his family repeatedly called for his release from custody.

His wife, Violet, had visited him in prison this week, their daughter Zeinab told the Associated Press. She said her father had suffered several strokes that left him confined to a wheelchair and unable to speak during her parents' final meeting.

"He didn't move. He couldn't talk. He didn't say a word to her. He just looked at her," said Zeinab, adding: "It is so sad that he had to go this way."

Aziz, who was known for his black-rimmed glasses and love of cigars, first came to prominence while serving as foreign minister during the first Gulf War in 1991.

As a Christian in a mainly Sunni Muslim government, he was not considered a member of Saddam Hussein's innermost circle.

A fluent English speaker, he played a vocal role before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, meeting Pope John Paul II in the Vatican to call for peace.

But when Baghdad fell, his lack of influence was reflected in his lowly ranking as the eight of spades in the U.S. military's famous "deck of cards" used to identify the most-wanted players in Saddam's regime.

In 2009, Aziz was sentenced to 15 years for the execution of 42 Iraqi traders who had been accused of manipulating food prices while Iraq was subject to international trade sanctions.

Five months later, he was sentenced to another seven years in prison for his role in the forced displacement of Kurds.

Despite being sentenced to death in 2010, there never seemed any huge pressure to carry out the sentence.