LONDON, March 17: The Iraqi judge who sentenced former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein to death is living secretly in Britain and has applied for permission to stay, the Times newspaper reported on Saturday.

Raouf Abdel Rahman, 65, came to Britain on a visitor’s visa with his family because he feared for their lives, according to the unsourced report.

He is thought to have applied for asylum after arriving in Britain two weeks before Saddam was hanged on Dec 30 last year, the Times said.

A spokeswoman for Britain’s Home Office (interior ministry), the department that handles immigration and asylum claims, would not confirm or deny the report.

“We never discuss individual asylum cases,” she said.

Militants in Iraq have frequently targeted the relatives of prominent figures, including judges, who are surrounded by tight security.

Abdel Rahman, a Kurd, headed the court that sentenced Saddam to hang on Nov 5, last year after he was found guilty of crimes against humanity.

The trial was over the killing of 148 Shias after a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Iraqi town of Dujail.

Abdel Rahman also sentenced to death Saddam’s former chief judge, Awad Hamed al-Bander and Saddam’s half-brother, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti.

Earlier this month, Al Jazeera also reported that Abdel Rahman had sought asylum in Britain. Citing unnamed official British sources, the TV news station said the judge feared his family could be killed if they stayed in Iraq.—Reuters