Ammar_al-Saffar
Ammar al-Saffar
Deputy Health Minister of Iraq, born 1956, abducted 2006
Ammar al-Saffar (born 1956) was the Deputy Health Minister of Iraq from 2003 until his kidnapping and likely death in 2006.[1] On November 19, 2006, he became the highest-ranking Iraqi official to be kidnapped when he was seized by men in police uniforms.[2]
Ammar al-Saffar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1956 |
| Died | after November 19, 2006 |
| Occupation | Deputy Health Minister |
| Employer | Government of Iraq |
| Known for | Forced disappearance and likely murder |
Since 2003, al-Saffa, a Shiite and member of the Islamic Dawa Party[3] worked as the Deputy Health Minister of Iraq, serving under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and was noted for his open criticism of former President Saddam Hussein.[4] In 2004, he spoke to Al Jazeera about medicine that had been looted from the Ministry of Health, and about quality control weaknesses under the previous Hussein administration.[5]
His son, writing in Foreign Policy in 2010, reported that al-Saffa was on the brink of exposing evidence of Hussein and fellow deputy minister Hakim al-Zamili diverting funds for health towards armed militias.[6]
Assassination attempts and abduction
There was an attempts on al-Saffa's life in June 2004.[7][1] On November 19, 2006, al-Saffa was abducted from his Baghdad home, at gun point, by men in Iraqi army uniforms.[7][3] He was aged 50 at the time of the abduction.[1]
In February 2007, Hakim al-Zamili, and General Hamid al-Shammari, were both arrested on suspicion they had played a role in al-Saffa's and other kidnappings. However, the charges were dropped in March 2008. As of 2008[update], Saffar remains missing.[7] Saffar's son Ali said a tape was sent to his family showing a hooded figure, ostensibly al-Saffa, being shot, but no body has ever been recovered. Al-Saffar was later declared legally dead in the United Kingdom, where his wife lives.[8]
Al-Saffar spent 16 years living in exile in the United Kingdom until he returned to his home country following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[9][7]
By 2013, al-Saffa's family considered him deceased and reported feeling no closure.[10]
- Graves, Neil (2006-11-20). "Baghdad Minister Grabbed". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
- "Iraqi health minister kidnapped; 4 Americans still held hostage - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
- Semple, Kirk (2006-11-19). "Syrian Official, in Iraq, Offers Assistance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- Gordon, M. R., Trainor, B. E. (2013). The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. United States: Vintage Books.
- "وزارة الصحة العراقية تسعى لتكون نموذجا لنجاح نقل السلطة". www.aljazeera.net (in Arabic). Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- al-Saffar, Ali (4 March 2010). "Iraq's Elected Criminals". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- McKenzie, Steven (2008-04-17). "'Dad went back to Iraq to help'". BBC News. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
- Years later, kidnapped Iraqi's family finds no closure Archived 2017-09-03 at the Wayback Machine Prashant Rao, AFP, 12 Dec 2013.
- "Gunmen Snatch Iraqi Deputy Minister". Sky News. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
- "Years Later, Kidnapped Iraqi's Family Finds No Closure". Naharnet. December 12, 2013. Retrieved 2022-07-21.