In February intermediaries from the dictator convinced the four that all was forgiven and they would be granted a pardon if they returned home.
But when they were back in Iraq, the couples were forced to divorce.
The al-Majid brothers would be dead less than a day later.
According to some accounts, they were killed after a 13-hour firefight. Raghdad Hussein instead claimed they were executed by military officer Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali.