Monday, April 02, 2007
Prosecution asks for death sentence for Chemical Ali
(BBC) - Iraqi prosecutors have asked for death sentences against five defendants in the so-called Anfal trial for the 1980s crackdown on Iraq's Kurdish population. They include the alleged mastermind of the campaign - Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his use of poison gas attacks. Mr Majid has acknowledged ordering scores of villages destroyed, saying they were "full of Iranian agents".
The trial was adjourned until 16 April when the defence will sum up its case.
In his closing remarks, chief prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon asked the court to convict the five and give them the harshest penalty because they "did not have mercy on elderly people or women or children - not even animals or plants or the environment". A sixth defendant - former Mosul governor Taher Tawfiq al-Ani - should be released however, the prosecutor said, because there was insufficient evidence against him.
The trial was adjourned until 16 April when the defence will sum up its case.
In his closing remarks, chief prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon asked the court to convict the five and give them the harshest penalty because they "did not have mercy on elderly people or women or children - not even animals or plants or the environment". A sixth defendant - former Mosul governor Taher Tawfiq al-Ani - should be released however, the prosecutor said, because there was insufficient evidence against him.
Labels: Ali Hassan al-Majid, Anfal trial, Chemical Ali, death sentences, Taher Tawfiq al-Ani
