SEVENTY-TWO hours is certainly a long time in Iraqi politics. When Tariq Aziz gave himself up to US forces three days ago, he was one of the Baath party’s longest-serving and most staunch disciples, the biggest catch so far in the coalition’s hunt for the 55 top members of the regime.

Yesterday, however, a different picture emerged of the veteran diplomat as his family pleaded for his release and sought to recast his reputation.

“Before, the name Tariq Aziz was famous around the world, now we are just infamous,” Zaineb Tariq Aziz, his daughter, told The Times.

Mr Aziz, a confident English-speaking minister who defended Iraq through three wars, was a loyal but ailing public servant, victimised by the regime, she said. He fought for moderation and certainly never regarded Saddam Hussein as a friend.

The description might sound like a convenient rewriting of history for a man who served the Baath party for 25 years, sat on the ruling Revolutionary Command Council and may end up on trial for crimes against his people.

Nevertheless, Zaineb and Amel Tariq Aziz, the former Deputy Prime Minister’s younger sister, insisted that he had no blood on his hands and, as the only prominent Iraqi Christian in government, was largely excluded from the abuses committed by Saddam’s family and clan.

Speaking in a large but modest villa in a middle-class Baghdad suburb, Mr Aziz’s daughter insisted that her family had had few privileges, aside from the villa on the banks of the Tigris, which was looted on the day that US troops seized the city.

Her younger brother, Saddam, went to inspect the property, which is still littered with his father’s copies of The Times, his collection of Penguin Classics and even his favourite cigar box.

“My brother asked a man in the house who owned it. The man claimed that the property now belonged to him and my brother left,” Zaineb said. “He might as well keep it because I am never going back there.”

Amel revealed that, just weeks before the war broke out, her brother, who is 67, had undergone a medical examination that showed two blood clots on the brain. “You may have noticed in his last television interview, his speech was slurred,” Amel said. “He was not well. We advised him to give up his work and rest, but he insisted on serving his country to the end.

“He seemed convinced that war could be averted because of the growing anti-war movement abroad.”

Mr Aziz is reported to have told his US captors that he had seen Saddam Hussein alive after two coalition airstrikes intended to kill him on March 20 and April 17.

The speed of the American victory apparently took Mr Aziz by surprise. He did not even have time to pack his belongings, including photographs in his study of meetings with Baroness Thatcher, George Bush Sr, the Pope and other world leaders. “He was liked around the world. He had many close contacts,” Amel said. “When we heard he had been offered asylum in Britain, we laughed. It is the last place he would go.

“He has much closer friends in France and Russia. I do not want to name them. But, if he did go abroad, it is more likely he would end up there.”

Both women said that they had lost contact with him two days before he was taken into custody. They insisted that he had handed himself in and may have reached a deal with the Americans.

“I can tell you with 100 per cent certainty that he had nothing to do with any human rights violations,” Amel said. “Sometimes, when we heard stories about abuses, we would ask him. He always said that he did not believe it. I do not think he knew about it.”

Although their denial might be hard to believe, their claim that the family was victimised by Saddam is plausible. Zaineb’s brother, Ziad, was arrested for fraud in 2000 and spent the next two years in and out of prison in Iraq. His father, who had been the Foreign Minister in charge of key negotiations at the United Nations, was demoted to Minister without Portfolio. It is widely believed that Mr Aziz was marginalised by Qusay Hussein, Saddam’s youngest son and heir apparent.

The family were at pains to emphasise that Mr Aziz had never formed strong ties with Saddam. “We wanted him to retire after the first Gulf War,” Amel said. “He was exhausted, but he wanted to continue. He did it out of duty to Iraq. He was not a personal friend of the President. The two had a purely official relationship.”

Mr Aziz played a decisive role in defending the regime, thwarting attempts to isolate and disarm Iraq in the UN and defending one of the world’s bloodiest dictatorships.

“We hope those holding him will consider his health, his age, his ailments, and the manner in which he served his country loyally,” Zaineb said. “He never hurt anybody.”

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