Iraqi Leader Honors Kin Said to Be in Exile

BAGHDAD — President Saddam Hussein’s half brother, who Iraqi dissidents had said was living in exile, appeared on state television being honored by the Iraqi leader.

Barzan Ibrahim Tikriti was shown Sunday being presented a medal by Hussein, who also bestowed awards on other loyal allies in his government and the ruling Arab Baath Socialist Party. They included Hussein’s son, Qusai, who oversees the elite Republican Guards; and two other half brothers--Watban and Sabawi Ibrahim Tikriti.

It was the first time Barzan Tikriti had appeared in public since an Iraqi opposition report in September that he had gone to the United Arab Emirates and requested asylum. A statement from the London-based opposition Iraqi National Accord, received in Cairo, said Barzan Tikriti feared that his life was in danger in Iraq.