’Chemical Ali’ To Hang For Genocide

AN IRAQI court has sentenced Saddam Husseins cousin, widely known as Chemical Ali, to the gallows for masterminding a genocidal campaign against Iraqs Kurds in the 1980s.

Ali Hassan al-Majid, wearing traditional Arab robes, trembled as the judge read the verdict, a witness said. As Majid left the courtroom, he said: "Thanks be to God."

Majid, whose name once sparked fear among Iraqis, directed a military campaign against the Kurdish north in which chemical weapons were used, villages demolished, agricultural land destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed.

The court also sentenced to death two former military commanders under Saddam for their role in what was known as the Anfal campaign. Two other commanders were sentenced to life in prison. Charges were dropped against the former governor of Mosul province for lack of evidence. Saddam was the seventh defendant until his execution in December.

Kurds have long sought justice for the Anfal or spoils-of-war campaign. Prosecutors said up to 180,000 people were killed in the seven-month, scorched-earth operation in 1988.

Majid, Saddams main enforcer, had a reputation for brutality and was used to crush dissent. He had a leading role in stamping out a Shiite rebellion in the south after the 1991 Gulf War.

In Anfal, thousands of villages declared prohibited areas were razed and bombed. Thousands of villagers were deported or executed. Mustard gas and nerve agents were used to clear villages, earning Majid his nickname, Chemical Ali. Many killed in the attacks were women and children.

Majid admitted in 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 said Anfal had legitimate military targets — Kurdish guerillas who had sided with Iran in the last stage of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.

Saddam sought to make an example of the rebellious Kurds, 20 per cent of the population, to deter opponents of his regime and show them what happened to those who defied his authority.

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 said 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.

Hussein Rashid, the former deputy of operations for the Iraqi military, and Sultan Hashim al-Tai, a former Iraqi defence minister, each received the death penalty for their part.

"We defended Iraq and we were not criminals," Rashid said, interrupting the judge as he read the verdict.

Farhan al-Juburi, a former military intelligence commander and Sabir al-Duri, former director of military intelligence, were sentenced to life in prison.

Human Rights Watch expressed concern that the verdicts in the trial could be flawed, as it said they were in the previous trial of Saddam over the killing of Shiites from the village of Dujail in the 1980s.

The analysis of the Dujail trial showed serious flaws in the application of basic international criminal law principles, said Richard Dicker, who heads the watchdogs International Justice Program.

"This raises concerns such errors will be repeated in the Anfal judgement and it therefore wont withstand scrutiny or the test of time."

The New York-based group said the Anfal trial had been marred by procedural flaws, including the Governments removal of the first presiding judge, Abdallah al-Ameri, a few weeks after the start of the trial.

REUTERS, AFP

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