Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Chemical Ali to be executed in Halabja
Crime
(AFP) - 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 Sulaimaniya 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.
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.
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.
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.
Labels: Ali Hassan al-Majid, Chemical Ali, Dr Barham Salih, Halabja
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Chemical Ali to be hanged in Kurdistan
Crime
(AP) -- Saddam Hussein's cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," and two other regime officials will probably be hanged in Kurdistan if the appeals court upholds their death sentences, an Iraqi official said Tuesday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to release the information to the media, said no final decision had been taken but the executions would probably take place in either Irbil or Halabja.
Also sentenced to death were Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, the former defense minister who led the Iraqi delegation at the cease-fire talks that ended the 1991 Gulf War, and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, a former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces. They were convicted Sunday of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in "Operation Anfal," a 1987-88 crackdown on Iranian-backed Kurdish rebels during the final years of the Iran-Iraq war.
The prosecution said up to 180,000 Kurds - including women and children - died in chemical weapons attacks, artillery barrages and mass deportations. Two other defendants were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the crackdown and one was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Death sentences are automatically appealed, and the appellate court faces no time limit in reviewing cases. If the sentences are upheld, executions are supposed to take place within 30 days. Saddam was among the defendants when the trial began Aug. 21. But he was hanged in Baghdad on Dec. 30 for his part in the deaths of more than 140 Shiite Muslims in Dujail. Iraq's government is dominated by Shiites and Kurds.
Also sentenced to death were Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai, the former defense minister who led the Iraqi delegation at the cease-fire talks that ended the 1991 Gulf War, and Hussein Rashid Mohammed, a former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi armed forces. They were convicted Sunday of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their roles in "Operation Anfal," a 1987-88 crackdown on Iranian-backed Kurdish rebels during the final years of the Iran-Iraq war.
The prosecution said up to 180,000 Kurds - including women and children - died in chemical weapons attacks, artillery barrages and mass deportations. Two other defendants were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the crackdown and one was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Death sentences are automatically appealed, and the appellate court faces no time limit in reviewing cases. If the sentences are upheld, executions are supposed to take place within 30 days. Saddam was among the defendants when the trial began Aug. 21. But he was hanged in Baghdad on Dec. 30 for his part in the deaths of more than 140 Shiite Muslims in Dujail. Iraq's government is dominated by Shiites and Kurds.
Labels: Ali Hassan al-Majid, Chemical Ali, execution, Halabja, Irbil
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Halabja victims' families to get $784 recompensation
Kurdistan, Politics
(Al-Iraqiyah) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki addressed a range of issues at a March 16 press briefing at Baghdad International Airport after an attempted trip to Kurdistan, Al-Iraqiyah television reported. His plane was unable to land in Al-Sulaymaniyah due to bad weather. Al-Maliki said he intended to give a grant of about 1 million dinars (about $784) to each Iraqi family who lost a loved one in the Halabjah massacre in 1988.
The town will also get its share of reconstruction funds in the future, he said. Al-Maliki also said that the western, largely Sunni Al-Anbar Governorate, which he visited last week, is no longer a safe haven for terrorism. "Thanks to the courage of the people of Al-Anbar, the tribes and politicians...the security situation there stabilized," al-Maliki said.
Prime Minister al-Maliki told reporters on March 16 that talks are ongoing among political parties to reshuffle the cabinet. "Names are proposed and deliberations are continuing. When we talk about change, we seek to look for the best that can provide the desired and required service in this or that ministry. That is why we are a bit late. Time drags on because we are looking for the best," he said. "When we get the names of the ministers nominated by their lists and blocs, we will immediately go to parliament."
Labels: Al Anbar, al-Maliki, cabinet reshuffle, Halabja, Kurdistan, recompensation
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Blasts in Karradah and Iskandariyah kill more people
Security
(AP) A suicide car bomber apparently targeting a senior city official struck an Iraqi military checkpoint Thursday in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad, killing at least eight people, officials said. The blast came a day after the U.S. military said stopping car bombings had become the main focus of a major security sweep to halt the sectarian violence in the capital. Karradah, a major commercial district, has been hit by bombings several times in recent months, including a suicide car bombing on Jan. 25 that killed 30 people.
In the city of Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, a bomb in a parked car exploded as a bus packed with workers passed by, killing at least four and wounding 24, police said. The Baghdad blast, which occurred just after 3 p.m., tore through a popular square in the predominantly Shiite area of Karradah, sending a huge plume of black smoke rising above the flags atop the nearby French Embassy. Officials said eight people were killed and 25 were wounded.
The driver detonated the explosives as a convoy carrying the head of the city council, Sabir al-Issawi, was passing the checkpoint on Kahramanah Square, the council chief's deputy told the AP. The mayor was unhurt, but three of his bodyguards were wounded, Naeem al-Qabi said. The bombing in Iskandariyah occurred about 7:30 a.m. as the bus was carrying employees of a state-owned car company to work. It shattered the facades of nearby houses, leaving piles of concrete rubble along the street. A ball of crumpled metal over a tire was all that was left of the car that exploded.
The government, meanwhile, announced that it had decided to hold a minute of silence in all Iraqi cities on Friday morning to commemorate the anniversary of the 1988 chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in northern Iraq, according to state TV. Saddam had ordered the attack as part of a scorched-earth campaign to crush a Kurdish rebellion in the north, seen as aiding the Iranian enemy.
In the city of Iskandariyah, 30 miles south of Baghdad, a bomb in a parked car exploded as a bus packed with workers passed by, killing at least four and wounding 24, police said. The Baghdad blast, which occurred just after 3 p.m., tore through a popular square in the predominantly Shiite area of Karradah, sending a huge plume of black smoke rising above the flags atop the nearby French Embassy. Officials said eight people were killed and 25 were wounded.
The driver detonated the explosives as a convoy carrying the head of the city council, Sabir al-Issawi, was passing the checkpoint on Kahramanah Square, the council chief's deputy told the AP. The mayor was unhurt, but three of his bodyguards were wounded, Naeem al-Qabi said. The bombing in Iskandariyah occurred about 7:30 a.m. as the bus was carrying employees of a state-owned car company to work. It shattered the facades of nearby houses, leaving piles of concrete rubble along the street. A ball of crumpled metal over a tire was all that was left of the car that exploded.
The government, meanwhile, announced that it had decided to hold a minute of silence in all Iraqi cities on Friday morning to commemorate the anniversary of the 1988 chemical weapons attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in northern Iraq, according to state TV. Saddam had ordered the attack as part of a scorched-earth campaign to crush a Kurdish rebellion in the north, seen as aiding the Iranian enemy.
Labels: blast, Halabja, Iskandariyah, Karrada, Sabir al-Issawi
