Latif Yahia (, ; born 14 June 1964) is an Iraqi blogger, political writer, and former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

that served in the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

. He is known for being the alleged former

body double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes for another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

of Uday Saddam Hussein, infamous elder son of

Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...

Biography

Yahia was born to a poor merchant family of Iraqi–Kurdish origins who had long been settled in Baghdad. He alleges that he became Uday's double in September 1987 during the

, in which he was a lieutenant. He was born 4 days before Uday’s official birth date. At the age of 23, he was summoned from the frontlines to the

presidential palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

, where he discovered that Uday remembered that classmates had remarked on the resemblance between the two when they were in school together. Yahia was informed that he was to become Uday's ''fedai'' (body double) to make public appearances as Uday whenever a dangerous situation was expected. Yahia initially refused to take the job and was subsequently put in solitary confinement. After his imprisonment, Latif agreed to be Uday's double. He was trained for six months to imitate Uday's speech patterns and manner. He underwent surgery and dental work to make their appearances more similar. During the Iraqi

invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country fo ...

, Yahia was used as a morale booster for the Iraqi troops and sent to

Basra Basra () is a port city in Iraq, southern Iraq. It is the capital of the eponymous Basra Governorate, as well as the List of largest cities of Iraq, third largest city in Iraq overall, behind Baghdad and Mosul. Located near the Iran–Iraq bor ...

posing as Uday to meet with troops. His relationship later deteriorated. According to Yahia, the final straw came when a woman Uday was interested in paid more attention to Yahia. Uday shot at him, grazing him. When ordered to kill the father of a beauty pageant holder, a defiant Yahia slit his arms in front of Uday and the father. Yahia fled north in November 1991, where he was arrested by Kurdish

Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...

, being mistaken for Uday. When they realized he was not Uday, he was released and granted asylum in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1992. After Yahia was attacked in Austria, he moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1995.

Challenges to Yahia's claims

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' journalist Eoin Butler and ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'' journalist Ed Caesar have questioned Yahia's various claims, including that he was Uday Hussein's body double, and pointed out that many of Yahia's activities since leaving Iraq in 1992, including his education, have not been verified. In 2011, Caesar interviewed various people from the time of the Hussein regime who said they had never heard of Yahia, nor of Uday ever using doubles. Yahia disputes these claims, saying that his very existence was a state secret.

Personal life

Yahia currently lives in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. He is married and has 3 children. He also lived in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

Film

The movie '' The Devil's Double'', directed by

Lee Tamahori Warren Lee Tamahori (; born 17 June 1950) is a New Zealand film director. His feature directorial debut, ''Once Were Warriors'' (1994), was a widespread critical and commercial success, and is considered one of the greatest New Zealand films eve ...

and starring Dominic Cooper as Yahia and Uday, premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival on 22 January 2011. Yahia was also the subject of an episode of

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

's '' Locked Up Abroad'' in 2012.

Books

* ''I was Saddam's Son'' released on 1 May 1994 by

Arcade Publishing Arcade Publishing is an Imprint (trade name), imprint of the American book publisher Skyhorse Publishing, Skyhorse. Founded in 1988 by Richard Seaver and his wife Jeannette, it was originally an independent company publishing trade fiction and no ...

. Hardcover: 250 pages. Co-author: Karl Wendl. * ''The Devil's Double'' released on 5 June 2003 by Arrow Books Ltd. Paperback: 334 pages. * ''The Black Hole'' released on 20 November 2006 b
Arcanum Publishing
Paperback: 224 pages * ''The Hangman of Abu Ghraib'' released on 20 November 2015 b
Arcanum Publishing
Paperback: 484 pages.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yahia, Latif 1964 births 20th-century Iraqi writers 21st-century Iraqi writers Iraqi bloggers Iraqi emigrants to Ireland Naturalised citizens of Ireland Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Iraqi Kurdish people Iraqi memoirists Iraqi Ground Forces officers Iraqi military personnel of the Iran–Iraq War Living people Iraqi political writers Iraqi Sunni Muslims Iraqi expatriates in Cyprus Iraqi expatriates in Germany