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Chemical Ali' to be hanged in Halabja, in
Iraqi Kurdistan region
15.7.2007
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July 15, 2007
SULAIMANIYAH, Kurdistan region (Iraq), --
Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Dr Barham Salih
yesterday said the notorious ‘Chemical Ali,’ cousin
and aide of Saddam Hussain, would be executed in the
northern Kurdish town of Halabja.
Salih made the announcement in the northern city of
Sulaimaniyah during a meeting with the Halabja
Victims’ Society, a non-profit organisation
representing the victims of a poisonous gas attack
there in 1988.
On March 16, 1988, Saddam’s troops strafed Halabja
with chemical gases, killing 5,000 Kurds in one of
the biggest military operations against the people
of the northern Kurdistan region during the
Iran-Iraq war.
The brutal attack was allegedly masterminded by Ali
Hassan al-Majid, widely known as Chemical Ali for
deploying poison gas against the Kurds. |
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 |
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An Iraqi court on June 24 sentenced Majid to hang
for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
committed during the military campaign, which
prosecutors claim killed 182,000 people.
A nine-member appeals court is currently reviewing
the sentence and is expected to give its decision
soon.
If the appeals panel certifies the sentence, Majid
will have to be executed within 30 days under Iraqi
law.
The Halabja attack took place during the military
campaign but was not part of the trial which saw
Majid and six others in the dock.
On Thursday a senior Iraqi official said the
government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was
considering hanging Majid in Kurdistan region.
“Thousands of our Kurdish people have requested that
Chemical Ali be hanged in Kurdistan,” said Bassim
Ridha, an adviser to Maliki.
“The government is considering these requests.
However his sentence is still to be certified by the
appeals court,” he said.
AFP
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