/ 2 March 2009

‘Chemical Ali’ condemned to death for third time

An Iraqi court on Monday condemned Saddam Hussein’s notorious henchman, ”Chemical Ali” Hassan al-Majid, to his third death sentence over the murder of Shi’ite Muslims 10 years ago.

However, the Iraqi High Tribunal acquitted former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz, long regarded as Saddam’s spokesperson to the outside world, on the same charges of crimes against humanity.

Majid, a former defence minister and cousin of the executed dictator, was condemned to death for ”premeditated murders as crimes against humanity”.

He and Aziz were accused, along with 12 other former regime officials, of involvement in the killing of dozens of Shi’ites in Baghdad and the holy city of Najaf in 1999.

The Iraqi military was ordered into the Shi’ite areas to stop public protests after the assassination of revered Shi’ite cleric Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr.

Majid was sentenced to death in June 2007 for genocide after ordering the deaths of tens of thousands of Kurds during the 1988 Anfal campaign, when Iraqi forces strafed villages with poison gas, the source of his grim nickname.

He was also given a second death penalty for war crimes and crimes against humanity over the crackdown on Shi’ites during their ill-fated 1991 uprising after the first Gulf war.

However, his execution has been repeatedly held up and he remains in the custody of United States officials.

He and Aziz are also on trial for crimes against humanity over the 1992 execution of 42 Baghdad merchants who were accused of speculating on food prices when Iraq was under punishing UN sanctions. — AFP

 

AFP