A brother-in-law of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein who sought asylum in Britain last year was refused the right to residency, the government said Friday.
British authorities had not previously spoken of the application by Emad Noures, but in response to a question from a local lawmaker, the Department for Constitutional Affairs said the asylum application was turned down in October.
The department also said a court in Stoke-on-Trent, central England, had rejected an appeal of the ruling.
“Adjudicator Kenneth Gillance would like to make it clear that the asylum appeal of Mr. Emad Noures and family was dismissed on both asylum and human rights grounds,” said the statement on behalf of the Immigration Appellate Authority.
The department said Noures’ wife was the sister of the captured Iraqi dictator’s second wife, Samira Shahbandar.
Officials had previously refused to discuss the result of Noures’ application, saying the matter was confidential.
The government announced the decision after Mark Fisher, a lawmaker who represents Stoke-on-Trent, filed a query in Parliament last month asking to know the outcome of the hearing.
Noures’ whereabouts were unknown.