During a brief interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Tariq Aziz said that considering he is 74 and faces more than two decades in prison for crimes related to his role in the former regime, he expects to die behind bars.
“I have no future. I have no future. I'm 74 years old now,” he said. “So I have no future.” Aziz served for years as Saddam's foreign minister, establishing an international reputation as the defender of the late dictator's regime.
He surrendered to US forces about a month after the war started in March 2003.
He was held at an American prison in Baghdad until the US handed over control of the facility this July to the Iraqi government. Aziz was handed over as well.
The English-speaking Aziz, who was a rare Christian in Saddam's inner circle, has been convicted in two cases stemming from the Saddam-era.
Last year, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years for his role in the 1992 execution of 42 merchants found guilty of profiteering. He also received a 7-year prison sentence for a case involving the forced displacement of Kurds in northern Iraq.
Aziz is currently on trial in a long-running case in which he is accused of being part of a campaign targeting members of the Dawa Party, of which Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki is a member.
When Aziz was transferred from US to Iraqi custody in July, his family said they were worried for his health in the Iraqi-run prison.
Aziz has suffered several strokes, and during recent court appearances has shuffled to and fro in the courtroom with the aid of a cane.
“I'm sick and tired but I wish Iraq and Iraqis well,” he said, declining to discuss the nation's politics.
