The son of one of Saddam Hussein's generals has been secretly living in Britain as a failed asylum seeker using forged papers.
Abas Fazil also made false claims for benefits at the expense of the British taxpayers when he could not find a job a court was told.
Fazil, 28, fled Iraq before the invasion because he did not want to become a soldier like his father, who is believed to have been a general in Saddam's army.
He arrived in the UK hidden in the back of a lorry in 2002, and claimed political asylum.
Saddam
Guarded: The late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was protected by a large army
But his appeals were rejected meaning he had no right to seek benefits or take up employment, Angela Wrottesley, prosecuting for the Department for Work and Pensions told Doncaster Crown Court.
Last November he showed up at a recruitment agency in the town looking for work, and presented a Home Office Leave to Remain letter in his name, which checks showed was fraudulent.
When he returned four days later officers were waiting for him, he was arrested, and his home in Regent Street, Balby, Doncaster, was searched.
A UK passport in the name of Craig Birtles, but with Fazil's photo inside, was found and he later confessed he had paid an associate £1,000 for the passport in 2005 so he could visit his sister in Iraq.
He also admitted buying the fake Home Office document for £100. While not working Fazil had falsely claimed more than £3,500 in Jobseeker's Allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
He pleaded guilty to making false representations to obtain benefits and two offences of identity fraud.
David Taylor, defending, said Fazil was "a victim of the world in which we live".
"He didn't want to remain in Iraq under the Saddam regime because they tried to force him to join the army. Because his father was a general in Saddam's army he knew what they did," he said.
His grandmother and sister gave him gold to flee the country to avoid military service and he was smuggled from Turkey in a truck to the UK where the only word he knew was 'asylum'.
Mr Taylor said Fazil had worked consistently but, when his legal opportunities to seek asylum had expired, he relied on a friend to provide him with documents.
"He has been a fool and he knows the court will impose a custodial sentence," Mr Taylor added.
Fazil, who has already been served with a deportation notice, was jailed for nine months.
Abas Fazil also made false claims for benefits at the expense of the British taxpayers when he could not find a job a court was told.
Fazil, 28, fled Iraq before the invasion because he did not want to become a soldier like his father, who is believed to have been a general in Saddam's army.
He arrived in the UK hidden in the back of a lorry in 2002, and claimed political asylum.
Saddam
Guarded: The late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was protected by a large army
But his appeals were rejected meaning he had no right to seek benefits or take up employment, Angela Wrottesley, prosecuting for the Department for Work and Pensions told Doncaster Crown Court.
Last November he showed up at a recruitment agency in the town looking for work, and presented a Home Office Leave to Remain letter in his name, which checks showed was fraudulent.
When he returned four days later officers were waiting for him, he was arrested, and his home in Regent Street, Balby, Doncaster, was searched.
A UK passport in the name of Craig Birtles, but with Fazil's photo inside, was found and he later confessed he had paid an associate £1,000 for the passport in 2005 so he could visit his sister in Iraq.
He also admitted buying the fake Home Office document for £100. While not working Fazil had falsely claimed more than £3,500 in Jobseeker's Allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
He pleaded guilty to making false representations to obtain benefits and two offences of identity fraud.
David Taylor, defending, said Fazil was "a victim of the world in which we live".
"He didn't want to remain in Iraq under the Saddam regime because they tried to force him to join the army. Because his father was a general in Saddam's army he knew what they did," he said.
His grandmother and sister gave him gold to flee the country to avoid military service and he was smuggled from Turkey in a truck to the UK where the only word he knew was 'asylum'.
Mr Taylor said Fazil had worked consistently but, when his legal opportunities to seek asylum had expired, he relied on a friend to provide him with documents.
"He has been a fool and he knows the court will impose a custodial sentence," Mr Taylor added.
Fazil, who has already been served with a deportation notice, was jailed for nine months.
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