An Iraqi court today issued a third death sentence for the former Saddam Hussein regime official best known as "Chemical Ali," this time for the violent suppression of a 1999 Shiite uprising, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Jan. 28).
Ali Hassan al-Majid was first sentenced to hang for his role in the massacre of tens of thousands of ethnic Iraqi Kurds under the government of his cousin Saddam Hussein in the late 1980s. Al-Majid allegedly ordered the use of chemical weapons in the campaign.
Also given the death penalty today were a former Baath party official and an intelligence officer who both served under the Hussein regime.
Three more former regime officials were sentenced to life in prison while former Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz and one other official were exonerated (Associated Press/Google News, March 2).