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Although his status as Saddam Hussein's oldest son once made him the prospective successor to his father, Uday fell out of favor with Saddam for his extravagance and recklessness. In October 1988, at a party thrown in the honor of the wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Uday beat and stabbed to death one of his father's favorite servants, Kemal Hana Gegeo . Gegeo had recently introduced Saddam to a beautiful, younger woman who later became Saddam's second wife. Uday took this as an insult to his mother, Saddam's cousin and first wife. Uday carried out the murder cooly and coldly, bludgeoning Gegeo repeatedly in front of horrified guests before finishing him off with a steak knife. President Mubarak later called Uday a "psychopath."
As punishment for the murder, Saddam briefly imprisoned Uday. As a result of personal intervention from King Hussein IHussein bin Talal ( Arabic: ) ( November 14, 1935 February 7, 1999) was the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan from 1952 to 1999. On July 20, 1951, King Abdullah I traveled to Jerusalem to perform his Friday prayers with his young grandson, Prince Hu of JordanThe Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan commonly called Jordan is a country in the Middle East. It is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, and Israel and West Bank to the west. It shares the coastlines of the, Saddam released Uday, banishing him to SwitzerlandThe Swiss Confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked federal state in central Europe, with neighbours Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. The country has a strong tradition of political and military neutrality, but also of international c. Saddam made him the assistant to the Iraqi ambassadorAn ambassador rarely embassador is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own. In everyday usage it applies to the ranking plenipote to Switzerland, hardly an auspicious posting. The Swiss expelled him after he threatened to stab someone in a restaurant.
The dictatorThe term dictator in the modern sense, is a vaguely-defined, connotatively negative word used to describe a totalitarian or authoritarian, or merely autocratic ruler of a country, and the leader of a dictatorship. The term is frequently associated with br later rehabilitated Uday, making him the head of the OlympicOlympic Flame from Olympia to the opening ceremony. The Olympic Games or Olympics are an international multi-sport event taking place every fourth year. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Fredy, Baron de Coub committee, and later, the head of one of Saddam's myriad security organizations. But Uday never regained his former status as his father's favored son. Saddam began to give this status to his second son QusayQusay Saddam Hussein al-Tikriti (or Qusai ( May 17, 1966 July 22, 2003) was the second son of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. He was appointed as his father's heir in 2000. Qusay's older brother Uday Hussein had been seen as the heir until he was injured.
On December 12December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 19 days remaining. Events 627 Battle of Nineveh 1531 Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City 1787 Pennsylvania becomes the second state to ratify, 1996 Uday was seriously injured in an assassination attempt, allegedly organised by Qusay. Hit by eight bullets while driving, he was at first thought to be paralyzed. Instead, he recovered his ability to walk, albeit with a limp. Despite surgeries, a bullet remained lodged in his spine. As a result of the attempted assassination and Uday's subsequent disabilities, Saddam gave Uday's younger brother, Qusay Hussein, more powers. In 2000, Saddam designated Qusay as his heir.
On March 17, 2003, US President George W. Bush gave Saddam Hussein and his two sons 48 hours to leave Iraq, or face war. Uday sarcastically responded to the ultimatum by demanding Bush and his family leave the United States.
A report on March 20, 2003 by ABC news made several allegations against Uday:
Other allegations include:
After the war, a New York Times correspondent verified that one of the torture devices in the basement of the Olympic building was an iron maiden (a sarcophagus with spikes facing inward that puncture the victim's body).
"Around 7 feet tall, three feet across and deep enough to house a grown man, the sarcophagus-shaped device found in Baghdad was clearly worn from use, its nails having lost some of their sharpness. It lay on its side within view of Uday's first-floor offices in the soccer association. Ironically, the torture device was brought to TIME's attention by a group of looters who had been stripping the compound of anything of value. They had left behind the iron maiden, believing it to be worthless." [1]
Uday (left), with his father, Saddam (center), and his brother, Qusay
On July 22, 2003, troops of the American 101st Airborne, aided by U.S. Special Forces, killed Uday, his younger brother Qusay and Qusay's 14 year old son during a raid on a home in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. Acting on a tip from an unidentified Iraqi, a special forces team attempted to apprehend the inhabitants of the house. After being fired on, the special forces withdrew and called for backup. As many as 100 American troops, later aided by Apache helicopters and an A-10 "Warthog" gunship, surrounded and fired on the house. After three hours of battle, the soldiers entered the house and found four dead, including the brothers, and three others wounded.
According to news reports (including the BBC and the New York Times), many of the people of Baghdad celebrated word of the brothers' death by firing rounds into the air. (It should be noted that the firing of rounds is very common at funerals in Arab culture, and could signal either celebration or mourning.)
The praise for Uday's and Qusay's deaths was not universal, however, with a correspondent for Al-Jazeera calling the demise of the brothers a "crime" carried out "in cold blood."
On July 23, 2003 the American command said that it had conclusively identified two of the dead men as Saddam Hussein's sons, using dental records. They also announced that the informant, possibly the owner of the house, would receive the combined $30 million award on the pair.
On July 24, 2003 pictures of the killed brothers were released to the press (). The U.S. military command stated that photos of brothers were released to combat widespread rumors in Iraq that the brothers are still alive and the whole episode is a hoax.
Some criticized the U.S. for creating a double standard in releasing the photos of the dead brothers, given that the Bush Administration condemned Saddam Hussein for releasing photos of American dead during the conflict. The U.S. military answered these criticisms by pointing out that these men were no ordinary dead combatants, and that confirmation of the deaths would bring "closure" to the Iraqi people.
Uday was buried in a cemetery in the Tikrit area alongside Qusay and the latter's son Mustapha. He was the Ace of Hearts on the most-wanted Iraqi playing cards.
Uday's personal palace in the city of Mosul