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'Chemical Ali' questioned by Iraq special
tribunal
26.7.2005
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BAGHDAD, Iraq —
Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali,"
two of Saddam's half-brothers and Iraq's former vice
president were brought before a judge for
questioning about the killing of Shiites, Kurds and
other political opponents, a videotape showed
Monday.
The former officials were questioned by Judge Munir
Haddad about the killing of thousands of followers
of rival political parties, the killing and
displacing of Shiite Kurds and people from the
southern marshes and acts of ethnic cleansing, said
a statement by the Iraq Special Tribunal. |
Ali Hassan al-Majid (
Chemical Ali )
Photo : Reuters |
The tape, obtained by
the Associated Press Television News, showed the
questioning of former Vice President Taha Yassin
Ramadan, former Defense Minister Ali Hassan al-Majid,
and Saddam's half brothers Barzan and Watban Ibrahim
al-Hassan. Barzan headed the intelligence
department.
The former vice president was in charge of
implementing the U.N. oil-for-food program in Iraq
and the work of weapons inspectors.
Also interrogated were the former ambassador to
Egypt, Samir Abdul-Aziz al-Najim; and Ahmed Hussein
Khudayer, who was in charge of Saddam's office. It
was unclear when the film was taken.
The video showed only the men stating their names
and detailing the jobs they held during the 35-year
rule of the Baath Party, from 1968 until it was
removed by the U.S.-led invasion in April 2003.
Al-Majid, nicknamed "Chemical Ali" for his alleged
role in a 1988 chemical attack on the northern
Kurdish village of Halabja that killed about 5,000:
"From 1987 to 1989, I was in charge of northern
affairs and from 1991 to 1995, I was the minister of
defense."
On July 17, the special tribunal filed its first
criminal case against Saddam and three other top
officials, including Barzan, who headed the
intelligence department. They are accused of
involvement in the July 8, 1982, massacre of an
estimated 150 Shiites in the town of Dujail, in
retaliation for a failed assassination attempt on
Saddam.
The former Iraqi dictator and several former regime
officials are being investigated in at least 12
cases that include the 1987-88 campaign to drive
Iraqi Kurds from wide areas of the north and for
crushing the Shiite revolt in the south after
U.S.-led forces drove Iraqi invaders from Kuwait in
1991.
The date for the trial of Saddam and the three
others has not been be determined. If convicted,
they could face the death penalty.
AP
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