Catherine McDuffie February 29, 2008 10:50 AM Global Crime
Iraq’s Presidential Council voted for the death sentence for Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali.” Al-Majid received this nickname from the thousands of Iraqi Kurds he gassed during the 1988 genocide attempt. Al-Majid, who was cousin to Saddam Hussein, will be executed within the next thirty days. “In June, the Iraqi Supreme Criminal Court convicted al-Majid of genocide and crimes against humanity.” The death penalty was also given for his defendants who were guilty of the same charges. These convicts will remain in US custody until the Iraqi government requests that they be “handed over” for the execution. Saddam Hussein’s government killed over 180,000 Kurds as well as the Shiite majority.
I think it is great that the Iraqi government is punishing those who have caused the country so much pain and damage. It is so nice to hear of some organization coming out of the country and I hope that they will continue to get themselves together and hopefully have a better future than they have past. I’m not sure that I agree with the execution of these people only because I am not in favor of death penalty. I am glad that the Iraqi government is finally making people own up to their unjust acts and I hope that in the future problems like this may be avoided.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abtLmZ_aQ66o&refer=home
1 comment:
Chemical Ali is one of the first names that really stuck when I began paying attention to international politics. The attempted genocide in 1988 was one of the first "contemporary history" events my high school history teacher gave us to study. At the time, he was protected by the regime in Iraq, with no real chance of being brought to justice. It's amazing how much has changed in the past 6 years.
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