London, Asharq Al-Awsat—Ziad Aziz, the eldest son of Saddam Hussein-era foreign minister Tariq Aziz, has strongly criticized Baghdad’s handling of his father’s death, saying that the Iraqi government did not inform the family that he had passed away.

Tariq Aziz died on Friday at the age of 79.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat from the Jordanian capital Amman, Ziad Aziz said: “We were not formally informed by any Iraqi government body about the death of my father . . . We learnt of his death after it was reported in the media.”

Aziz was the public face of the Saddam Hussein regime and staunchly defended the regime right to the very end. He was the highest-ranking Christian official during the Saddam era. He was sentenced to death in October 2010 after being found guilty of persecuting members of Shi’ite Muslim religious parties, something that he denied.

Ziad Aziz also criticized Baghdad’s decision not to allow his father compassionate leave before his death. “His health deteriorated more than a month ago and despite international appeals for his release, the Iraqi government refused to allow him to die at home surrounded by his family after he spent 12 years and 36 days behind bars for a crime he did not commit.”

He added: “What would have happened if the Iraqi government showed some humanity for once and released an old man who was in bad health who served his nation sincerely?”

The head of the Nasiriyah prison where Tariq Aziz was held, Hussein Khalid, confirmed the Saddam-era official’s ill-health, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that “since his imprisonment, Tariq Aziz suffered from a number of illnesses due to his old age, including heart disease.”

International media reported that Aziz was taken to the Al-Hussein hospital in the city of Nasiriyah after suffering a heart attack on Friday.