What happened to the Husseins?

Looking at this photograph of the "imperial" household of Saddam Hussein, no one would have foreseen that the young woman cradling the baby would one day be the standard-bearer for the former supreme leader of Iraq.

But Raghad Hussein, Saddam's eldest and favourite daughter, and the widow of the man he had ordered to be killed, is wanted for allegedly funding and helping to organise the insurgency since the "liberation" by US and British forces four years ago.

An Interpol warrant, issued at the instigation of the Iraqi government, accuses the 38-year-old woman of "crimes against life, incitement and terrorism". If extradited from Jordan, and convicted, she faces life imprisonment and possible execution.

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The government in Baghdad made similar accusations against Raghad before, but the issuing of the warrant, and demands at the most senior level between the two countries, show how the ominous shadow of the former dictator still hangs over Iraq, with Baathist loyalists playing a lethal part in the violence.

The renewed pursuit of Ragh-ad, say observers, betrays more about the desperation of the government of Nouri al-Maliki failing to cope with the violence, than any sign that she is more active in fomenting opposition. The Jordanians had rejected requests from two previous Iraqi governments for extradition. She is there, they say, as a guest of King Abdullah and the Royal Hashemite house, and she will not be handed over to the vengeful Shia regime in Baghdad.

Abdullah's father, the late King Hussein, had hosted Raghad before. That was when she and her sister Rana arrived in Amman with their husbands, Hussein Kamal Al Majid and Saddam Kamal Al Majid, who had defected. The men were cousins of Saddam, and Kamal, in particular, was high in the Baath party hierarchy. He talked extensively to US, British and UN officials about Saddam's illicit weapons programme before becoming disillusioned with life in exile and accepting offers of safe conduct to return home.

At the border, Raghad and Rana were separated from their husbands by their brother, Uday. Kamal and Saddam were taken to Baghdad and killed. Raghad and Rana were said to be estranged from their father after the killings, seldom venturing out. Never in the public life, unlike Uday and Qusay, they disappeared into the shadows, sent off to live for a while with Saddam's clan in Tikrit.

Raghad fled Baghdad at night in the aftermath of the 2003 invasion and settled in Amman. For a while, she spent her time being photographed for magazines and visiting hospitals. Then US troops killed Uday and Qusay in a raid on a house in Mosul; they had been betrayed by a confidant for, it was claimed, a reward of $25m (£12.5m) from the Americans and their sister became the unlikely holder of the Hussein mantle. Her nickname, "Little Saddam", was coined about this time and not, as sometimes reported, because of her haughty behaviour while growing up in Baghdad.

Now, Jordanian officials, more worried by American rather than Iraqi government sensibilities, say they want Raghad to comply with the official conditions of remaining in Jordan, not to engage in political activities, make public statements, or communicate with the media. But this is something Saddam's daughter has become increasingly less inclined to do. Although relatively cautious at first, she has become more vocal and confident as the American and British occupation has become more unpopular. And the much-criticised botched hanging of Saddam has led to a new groundswell of support among former loyalists, and sympathy from the Arab world, strengthening her position.

Raghad was the central figure in mourning for her father for the traditional 40 days after his death. In a ceremony in Yemen, hosted by Yahia Mohammed Saleh, the head of the country's security force, and a cousin of the President who is nominally an ally of the US and Britain on the "War on Terror", she said: "Saddam Hussein is the real hero and pan-Arab leader. I am proud of him and proud of his great struggle and sacrifice. As long as the resistance and the mujaheddin are fulfilling their duties in Iraq, the Iraqi people, without any doubt, will achieve victory."

At her home in Amman's affluent and exclusive district of Abdoun, with numerous photographs of her father and the family among copies of Hello! magazine, and romantic novels, Raghad has kept in regular contact with opposition activists and the media. The Independent was among newspapers she had talked to while organising her father's defence at the trial. At the time, she came over as a person finding her feet into public life and enjoying the experience.

Raghad was not keen to discuss the killing of her husband and brother-in-law. "All families have misunderstandings and problems, but in the end they are families," she insisted. She was focusing instead, she said, on getting a legitimate defence of her father at his trial. In particular, she was keen to engage British lawyers on the defence team, and one QC approached was Anthony Scrivenor, a former chairman of the Bar Council.

She had seen an article by Mr Scrivenor in The Independent on Sunday, saying, "the trial of Saddam Hussein and his colleagues has already degenerated into the realms of a promising theatrical farce". Another prospective recruit was Desmond Doherty, a solicitor from Londonderry, who had worked on the Bloody Sunday inquiry. In the event, neither appeared, although the overwhelming opinion of international jurists tallied with Mr Scrivenor's assessment of the proceedings.

Raghad said: "Sadly, they are dealing with my father as if he were not human. My father has girls, and his girls have children, so they should consider the human side. They think my father has a lack of concern for human life, but regardless of detail, the Americans should be humanitarian in dealing with his family."

Saddam's daughter also co-operated with the making of a film about her family, Saddam's Tribe, for Channel 4 television. Monica Garnsey, who was involved in the production, and got to know Raghad well, recalled: "The one thing people wanted her to say is, 'My father is a terrible man', and that is the one thing she will never say. His looming death provoked this huge welling of emotion. She had this sense of obligation and helplessness."

While not engaged in émigré politics, Raghad has the lifestyle of others in the diaspora of rich Iraqis in Jordan. For a long time, her favourite designer store was a place where she was said to have had a particular penchant for boots and bags. A member of the crew for the Channel 4 film remember Raghad and Rana spending $9,000 in 20 minutes at duty-free shops at Qatar.

An Iraqi businessman in Amman, who traded profitably under Saddam and has continued to do so under the present government, after paying the requisite bribe, said: "It is not, of course, unusual in Asia for daughters to follow fathers who rule countries. But Raghad was never trained to be a politician and, frankly, her political instincts are pretty non-existent.

"She has got to be careful because who knows if the Jordanians will change their minds about sending her back to Iraq. Really, she is in this prominent position now only because the rest of the family are either killed or keep very quiet."

The death toll of the extended family of Saddam, a man whose climb to power was steeped in blood, has indeed been great. Ali, Saddam's surviving son, is living with his mother, Samira Shahbandar, the former leader's second wife, in Lebanon, and shows no desire to become involved in the Iraqi struggle. Of the others, as well as Uday and Qusay, Saddam's half-brother, Barzan has been executed after a trial, and Ali Hussein al Majid, the cousin nicknamed Chemical Ali after murderous gas attacks on the Kurds, is awaiting trial and facing a death sentence. If the Iraqi government has its way, Raghad will soon join him.