Fawaz Zureikat
Encyclopedia
Fawaz Abdullah Zureikat ( - March 2010) or Zuraiqat or Zurayqat and variations) (1955–2010) was a wealthy Jordan
ian businessman.
Zureikat was implicated in the United Nations
Oil for Food scandal relating to corruption surrounding Iraq
's oil exports. In the 2004 Duelfer Report Zureikat is identified as receiving oil allocations from Iraq via Middle East Semi Conductors Co. In other documents, another company - Aredio Petroleum - is also linked to Zureikat. He'd been doing business in Iraq since 1986, and his brother Hatem is a political prisoner in Syria
since 1981 who once shared a cell with Tariq Aziz
. He donated several hundred thousand pounds to George Galloway
's Mariam Appeal
charity.
He also made payments to George Galloway's wife. In August 2000 he also made a payment to Ron McKay, George Galloway's Press spokesman.
For a time he was station manager of Arab Television (ATV), a short-lived English-language satellite channel with offices in London and Baghdad which filmed and distributed the worldwide rights to the pre-Iraq war interview conducted in Baghdad between Tony Benn
and Saddam Hussein
.
He was also a member of the National Mobilisation Committee for the Defence of Iraq (NMCDI), based in Jordan, and a passionate opponent of sanctions on Iraq. He was arrested on 3 March 2003 in Amman
by Jordanian intelligence services, along with other prominent businessmen who had financial links with Saddam Hussein's regime. He was later released.
Zureikat died in Amman in March 2010.
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
ian businessman.
Zureikat was implicated in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Oil for Food scandal relating to corruption surrounding Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
's oil exports. In the 2004 Duelfer Report Zureikat is identified as receiving oil allocations from Iraq via Middle East Semi Conductors Co. In other documents, another company - Aredio Petroleum - is also linked to Zureikat. He'd been doing business in Iraq since 1986, and his brother Hatem is a political prisoner in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
since 1981 who once shared a cell with Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz
Tariq Aziz and Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq and a close advisor of former President Saddam Hussein. Their association began in the 1950s when both were activists for the then-banned Ba'ath Arab Socialist Party...
. He donated several hundred thousand pounds to George Galloway
George Galloway
George Galloway is a British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster who was a Member of Parliament from 1987 to 2010. He was formerly an MP for the Labour Party, first for Glasgow Hillhead and later for Glasgow Kelvin, before his expulsion from the party in October 2003, the same year...
's Mariam Appeal
Mariam Appeal
The Mariam Appeal was a political campaign in the United Kingdom established in 1998. The objects of the Appeal as stated in its constitution were: "to provide medicines, medical equipment and medical assistance to the people of Iraq; to highlight the causes and results of the cancer epidemic in...
charity.
He also made payments to George Galloway's wife. In August 2000 he also made a payment to Ron McKay, George Galloway's Press spokesman.
For a time he was station manager of Arab Television (ATV), a short-lived English-language satellite channel with offices in London and Baghdad which filmed and distributed the worldwide rights to the pre-Iraq war interview conducted in Baghdad between Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
and Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
.
He was also a member of the National Mobilisation Committee for the Defence of Iraq (NMCDI), based in Jordan, and a passionate opponent of sanctions on Iraq. He was arrested on 3 March 2003 in Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
by Jordanian intelligence services, along with other prominent businessmen who had financial links with Saddam Hussein's regime. He was later released.
Zureikat died in Amman in March 2010.
External links
- "Jordan: Possible prisoner of conscience/Legal concern, Fawaz Zurayqat", Amnesty InternationalAmnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, 24 March 2003.