In 1987, Latif Yahia was taken to Saddam's headquarters to meet Uday, Saddam's eldest son, and told that a great honour had been bestowed upon him: that because of the great likeness between them, he had been chosen to be Uday's double. For many Iraqis it would have been the highlight of their lives, but for Latif, a peace-loving man who did not agree with Saddam's brutal regime, it was not. He refused. Following a week of torture, and realising he would be killed if he continued to refuse, Latif was forced to accept the role. After a gruesome training programme during which he was made to watch over thirty films of torture, hours of tapes of Uday, and undertake a final remodelling of his appearance, Latif was deemed ready. But it was only after the final test, a meeting with Saddam himself, that Latif made his first public appearance. And so began his life as Uday's double - a life on the perimeter of the inner circle of Saddam's eldest son, a witness to the horror of his insane life of debauchery, excess and brutality, and an experience for which he almost paid with his life on more than one occasion. Latif Yahia has written a couple of books, the first titled (I Was Saddam's Son) in German language in 1994, they have sold over one million copies worldwide in twenty languages. His second book (The Devil's Double) in 2003... and his New Book (The Black Hole) in 2006. This Book has been banned in Books Stores in the USA and IRELAND and he lives there, and all because he didn't say nice things about The American CIA. Latif Yahia has earned a Ph.D in International Law and has studied Psychology. Latif Yahia now lives in Ireland with his Irish wife and children, after fifteen years apart he is now reunited with his mother and has in his care his brothers two children, their mother was killed in Baghdad during "Shock and Awe". During the "War on Iraq" Latif was in opposition to the invasion not because of his support for the Hussein Regime on the contrary, but because of the human cost of the conflict and the terrible toll he knew such action would take on Iraq. Having personally met the pre-ordained leaders of the Interim Government of Iraq, Latif knew the corruption and embezzlement that would become the staple of the "New Democracy". After nearly fifteen years outside Iraq, Latif is still stateless, he has not been offered citizenship by any European country, he looks at his position philosophically "I am a citizen of the world" he declared when invited to participate in a Peace mission across the Sahara desert in 2006. Since his participation in this peace mission he is recognised as an ambassador for peace. He is also a member of Amnesty International and fights for human rights. In the past year a feature film about his life based on the book The Devil's Double and with a working title of the same name has been filmed in Malta. Starring Dominic Cooper of Mamma Mia and The Duchess and directed by Lee Tamahori (Once were warriors, James Bond Die another Day and Next with Nicolas Cage) the movie promises to be an edgy gangster type thriller set in Baghdad in the 80's.
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Baghdad, the playground for the rich and infamous, where anything can be bought - but for a price. This is Uday Hussein's world and with his depraved lust for debauchery and immorality, he helps himself to whatever turns him on. When army lieutenant Latif Yahia is summoned to Saddam's palace, he is faced with an impossible request - to be Uday's 'fiday' - his body double, or have his family condemned to death. In a world entrenched in betrayal and corruption, knowing who to trust becomes a matter of life or death for Latif, as he battles to escape from his forced existence.