November 12, 2007
BAGHDAD, -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al
Maliki said on Sunday he is “determined” that
“Chemical Ali” and two other cohorts of Saddam
Hussein be hanged for genocide against ethnic Kurds.
US forces will not hand over "Chemical Ali" and two
other cohorts of Saddam Hussein for execution until
a legal row is settled, the US embassy said on
Monday, responding to a bitter attack by Iraqi Prime
Minister Nuri al-Maliki.
"There continue to be differences in viewpoint
within the government of Iraq regarding the
necessary Iraqi legal and procedural requirements
for carrying out death sentences issued by the Iraqi
High Tribunal," US spokeswoman Mirembe Nantongo
said.
"Coalition forces will continue to retain physical
custody of the defendants until this issue is
resolved," she added. |
Ali Hassan al-Majid, first cousin of executed
dictator Saddam Hussein and also known as 'Chemical
Ali', 'Butcher of Kurdistan' sentenced to death over Kurdish genocide, AP |
|
On Sunday, Maliki accused the US embassy of playing
an "unfortunate role" in preventing the handover of
the three condemned men, who, like other members of
Saddam's ousted regime, are in US military custody.
He told a press conference in Baghdad that his
government was "determined" that the executions be
carried out.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, widely known as "Chemical Ali"
for his use of poisonous gas against Kurds; Sultan
Hashim al-Tai, Saddam's defence minister; and
Hussein Rashid al-Tikriti, his armed forces deputy
chief of operations, were sentenced to death on June
24.
Majeed, former Defence Minister Sultan Hashim and
Saddam's former army chief of staff Hussein Rashid
were sentenced to death in June for planning and
directing a military Anfal genocide campaign in 1988
that prosecutors said killed up to 180,000 Kurds.
Under Iraqi law they were supposed to have been
executed by October 4, 30 days after their sentences
were upheld by the Iraq Supreme Court.
But Maliki made it clear he did not want the
executions to take place during the Muslim holy
month of Ramadan, which ended on October 15, because
of the outcry that followed Saddam Hussein's
execution during another Muslim holiday.
More than a month after the deadline the sentences
have not yet been carried out and lawyers claim that
since the deadline was not adhered to, executing the
men would be illegal.
Further complicating matters, two members of the
presidential council, President Jalal Talabani, a
Kurd, and Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, a Sunni,
have refused to sign the execution order.
In the case of Saddam, Talabani, who is opposed on
principle to the death penalty, refused to give the
order but signed a letter to the Shiite prime
minister saying he would raise no objections if the
government went ahead.
Hashemi fears that the execution of Hashim could
undermine already stuttering reconciliation efforts
in post-Saddam Iraq.
The vice president argues that Hashim, a career
military man, had little choice but to follow orders
from Saddam.
AFP
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