An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced to death Saddam Hussein’s cousin, widely known as ”Chemical Ali”, for masterminding a genocidal campaign against Iraq’s ethnic Kurds in the 1980s.
A tired-looking Ali Hassan al-Majeed, wearing traditional Arab robes, trembled as the judge read the verdict, one witness said. As Al-Majeed left the courtroom, he said: ”Thanks be to God.”
Al-Majeed, whose very name once sparked fear among Iraqis, directed a military campaign against the Kurdish north in which chemical weapons were used, villages demolished, agricultural lands destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed.
The court also sentenced to death two former military commanders under Saddam for their roles in the campaign. Two other commanders were sentenced to life in prison, while charges were dropped against the former governor of Mosul province for lack of evidence. Saddam was the seventh defendant, until his execution in December in a separate trial.
Kurds have long sought justice for the so-called Anfal or ”Spoils of War” campaign that has left lasting scars on their mountainous region. Prosecutors say up to 180 000 people were killed in the seven-month ”scorched-earth” operation in 1988.
The populations of entire villages disappeared.
Al-Majeed was viewed as Saddam’s main enforcer, a man with a reputation for brutality who was used by the president to crush dissent. He also played a leading role in stamping out a Shi’ite rebellion in the south after the 1991 Gulf War.
During Anfal, thousands of villages declared ”prohibited areas” were razed and bombed. Thousands of villagers were deported, many executed.
Mustard gas and nerve agents were used to clear villages, earning Al-Majeed his grim nickname ”Chemical Ali”. Many of those killed in the poison gas attacks were women and children.
Al-Majeed admitted during the trial he ordered troops to execute all Kurds who ignored orders to leave their villages but did not confirm ordering the use of chemical weapons.
The defendants have said Anfal had legitimate military targets — Kurdish guerrillas who had sided with Iran during the last stage of the 1980/88 Iraq-Iran war.
Historians say Saddam sought to make an example of the rebellious Kurds, who make up 20% of the population, to deter opponents of his regime and show them what happened to those who defied his authority.
It was the ”logical if brutal conclusion of the policies pursued by the regime towards the Kurds”, wrote historian Charles Tripp in his book, a History of Iraq.
The trial heard evidence from survivors, some still bearing the scars of the poison gas attacks, and prosecutors presented forensic data unearthed from mass graves across Iraq.
International human rights groups say the trial was marred by procedural flaws and political interference — the government replaced the chief judge after he made remarks interpreted as favouring the defendants. – Reuters