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Chemical Ali grilled over massacre
21.6.2005
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BAGHDAD: Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin, Ali
Hassan al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali, has
appeared in an interrogation tape released by the
Iraqi Special Tribunal.
Al-Majid and seven others were shown testifying
before an investigating magistrate and signing
statements. The tribunal did not say when the tape
was made, but a document signed by al-Majid was
dated June 16.
It
was the third such tape released by the tribunal
this month. Last Wednesday, it released a video
showing the questioning of three former senior
officials, including Saddam's half-brother Sabawi
Ibrahim. Saddam himself had appeared on an earlier
tape.
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Ali Hassan al-Majid (
Chemical Ali )
Photo : AFP
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No trial dates have been set for Saddam or any of
the other former regime officials being held in
custody.
In yesterday's tape, al-Majid is shown sitting in a
chair and later signing a document. There is no
audio on the tape except for when the men say their
names. Al-Majid is known as Chemical Ali for his
role in poison gas attacks against Iraq's Kurdish
minority, including the 1988 gassing on the Kurdish
town of Halabja that killed an estimated 5000
people. He was captured on August 21, 2003.
The tribunal said he was questioned about crimes
against religious parties and "killing and
arresting" Iranian Kurds -- who are also known as
Faili Kurds -- living in Iraq.
Saddam is known to have deported tens of thousands
of Faili Kurds to Shi'ite Iran during the 1980-88
war with that country, accusing them of spying for
the Iranians and aiding their war effort. Another of
the defendants was Abid Hamid Mahmud al-Tikriti, a
presidential secretary and Saddam's cousin, who was
captured on June 16, 2003.
The tribunal said he was charged with crimes against
religious parties.
It then showed Taha Yassin Ramadan, vice-president
and revolutionary command council member, who was
captured on August 20, 2003.
It also said he was charged with crimes against the
Faili Kurds. Another man on the tape was former
interior minister Mahmoud Diab al-Ahmed, who was
captured on August 8, 2003. The tribunal said he
faced a blanket charge of crimes against religious
parties.
Little was known of the final four men on the tape.
The tribunal said Sadoun Shakir al-Obeidi faced
charges of taking part in a massacre in Dujail, a
town 80km north of Baghdad where at least 50 people
were shot dead in 1982 in retaliation for a failed
attempt to assassinate Saddam. Saddam is also a
defendant in that case, which it is believed will be
the first to include the former dictator.
AP, AFP
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