A man who says he is the nephew of the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been detained in Austria and taken to a "safe place."
Austrian Interior Ministry officials said on June 22 that the 41 year-old man told police he was Saddam''s nephew after police stopped him and two Iraqi companions in Traiskirchen, south of Vienna.
Officials said the men, who were not carrying passports, told investigators they are seeking asylum.
Interior Ministry official Karl-Heinz Grundboeck said an identity check subsequently established that the man was telling the truth about his relationship to Saddam.
Grundboeck said the men told officials that they had flown to Austria from Turkey.
Austrian Interior Ministry officials said on June 22 that the 41 year-old man told police he was Saddam''s nephew after police stopped him and two Iraqi companions in Traiskirchen, south of Vienna.
Officials said the men, who were not carrying passports, told investigators they are seeking asylum.
Interior Ministry official Karl-Heinz Grundboeck said an identity check subsequently established that the man was telling the truth about his relationship to Saddam.
Grundboeck said the men told officials that they had flown to Austria from Turkey.