U.S. President urged to free Tareq Aziz- AFP

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A lawyer for Iraq’s jailed ex-deputy premier Tareq Aziz, who is currently hospitalized after suffering a stroke, has urged U.S. President Barack Obama to free him for humanitarian reasons, the Agence France Presse (AFP) said in a report. “‘I call on American President Obama to release my client from jail for humanitarian reasons so we can move him out of Iraq and save his life’, Amman-based lawyer Badie Aref told AFP.” “‘I telephoned the Americans (in Iraq) today, and they told me his condition is stable but refused to give me any details. I fear for his life. I heard he lost the ability to speak and that his health is deteriorating’.” “Aref said he was also trying to contact the Vatican through French and Italian lawyers to help release Aziz, who hails from a Chaldean Catholic family.” “The lawyer said on Sunday that Aziz has been moved from jail to an American military hospital in the US base at Balad, 70 kilometres (45 miles) north of Baghdad, after a stroke on Friday. “One of a handful of long-term senior survivors of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Aziz, who has been convicted for crimes against humanity, is reported to have already suffered two heart attacks in custody.” “Named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy premier minister in 1991, Aziz turned himself in to US forces in April 2003, just days after Saddam was overthrown.” “About 4.4 million Iraqis have fled their homes since the invasion almost seven years ago, with about 750,000 now living in neighbouring Jordan, according to UN and Jordanian figures,” according to the AFP.   SS (S)/SR 2