Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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March 2, 2009

Iraqi Court Gives 'Chemical Ali' Third Death Sentence
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=229E2A0:A6F02AD83191E16004BEB220FBFCA35CC030207A0BD70133&
 
Majid's sentence delayed, court acquits former FM Tariq Aziz of similar
charges in his first out of four trials 
Ali Hassan Al-Majid (file photo)An Iraqi court has given a third death
sentence to Saddam Hussein's cousin, Hassan al-Majid, also known as
"Chemical Ali" for his role in the gassing of Iraqi Kurds. The court
sentenced Majid to hang after convicting him of premeditated murder in
connection to the 1999 crackdown on Shi'ite protests in the city of
Najaf and in the poor Baghdad neighborhood now known as Sadr City. The
court also acquitted former Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz of the same
charges. It is the first verdict in four separate trials of Aziz, who
also served as Saddam's deputy prime minister and was the regime's main
spokesman to the outside world. Aziz, Majid and 12 other ex-officials
were put on trial for the suppression of Shi'ite protests after the
assassination of a leading Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed
Sadeq al-Sadr. Majid has already been sentenced to death twice in
separate trials, once for the 1980s anti-Kurd military campaign known as
"Anfal," in which!
  poison gas was used, and once for the crackdown on a Shi'ite uprising
following the 1991 Gulf War. Majid's execution has been delayed
repeatedly.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


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