THE HAGUE, Dec 23
(AFP) - 17h00 - A Dutch court on Friday sentenced
former chemicals trader Frans van Anraat to 15 years
in jail for aiding war crimes by selling chemicals
the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein used for deadly
gas attacks on Kurdish villages.
Earlier, the court said that although it felt it was
proven that the former Iraqi ruler committed
genocide against Kurds in the 1980s, Van Anraat was
acquitted of charges of complicity in genocide.
The court said it could not be proven that he knew
of the Iraqi regime's genocidal intentions.
"The attacks caused the deaths of many people and
caused much suffering among the survivors," the
court said in its ruling.
"The crimes are of such a grave nature that even the
maximum sentence cannot do them justice," the judges
said before sentencing the Dutchman to the maximum
of 15 years in prison.
Under international law, genocide carries a special
burden of proof, namely that a suspect had a
specific intent or knew of a specific intent to
commit genocide, in order to come to a conviction.
For war crimes the burden of proof is less, which
explains why Van Anraat was convicted on war crimes
charges based on the same evidence.
The Dutch ruling marks the first time a court has
ruled that Saddam committed genocide in Iraq with
the 1988 massacre of Kurds in the town of Halabja. |
Frans Van Anraat
Photo: Internet
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP |
|
The attack, which killed more than 5,000 people in a
single day, also features among the preliminary
charges against the former Iraqi ruler who is
currently on trial in Baghdad.
The court said 63-year old Van Anraat, who acted as
a sort of middleman, buying chemicals on the world
market and selling them on to Iraq despite export
bans in place in the 1980s, acted "out of the love
of profit".
The court said it was legally established that the
businessman supplied chemicals including
thiodiglycol and phosphorus oxychloride, both
ingredients for mustard and nerve gases to Iraq
between 1985 and 1988.
Iraq then used the ingredients Van Anraat sold to
make nerve gas used in deadly attacks on Kurdish
villages in Iraq and Iran.
According to the judges, Van Anraat "must have
known" that the chemicals he provided could be used
to make poison gas. During the court case Van Anraat
admitted to selling the chemical components to Iraq,
but always maintained that he was not aware of the
use to which they were put.
Van Anraat was not present in court for the verdict
but his lawyers told ANP news agency that they would
appeal the ruling.
Van Anraat was arrested in Italy in 1989 on a US
warrant but later fled to Iraq where he lived for 14
years under a new name given to him by the Iraqi
regime, Faris Mansour Rasheed al Bazzaz, meaning
"the courageous and intelligent fabric salesman".
He remained in Iraq until US-led forces invaded the
country in 2003, and then returned to the
Netherlands, Dutch officials said, where he was
arrested in December 2004 on charges of complicity
in genocide and war crimes.
Despite the Dutch court having issued the first
legal ruling on whether Halabja amounted to
genocide, observers say it remains uncertain if this
might affect the Iraq tribunal trying Saddam and
others.
"The Iraq tribunal will have to take into account
international law as established by, for instance,
UN ad hoc tribunals, but not necessarily Dutch law,"
explained Heikelina Verrijn Stuart, a Dutch lawyer
and commentator who has followed the Van Anraat
trial.
AFP
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