25/06/2012 10:17
Hussein’s nephew requested asylum in Austria
According to AFP a nephew of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has requested asylum in Austria after being picked up by police in a routine identity check, the interior ministry said Friday, confirming media reports.
Police spotted the 42-year-old man in the company of two other Iraqi men on Thursday at the train station in Traiskirchen, some six miles south of Vienna, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported, the Telegraph reports.
"Asylum proceedings are now under way in Austria," the spokesman said. "Regardless of his origin, everyone has a right to a legal process."
Bashar N. said he had arrived by plane from Turkey using a false passport, which had then been taken away by the people smuggler who had helped him, according to the spokesman, says the Austrian Times.