Verdicts in trial of defendants charged with genocide

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST Baghdad 1. Wide of Ali Hassan al-Majid, Hussein Rashid Mohammed, Farhan Mutlaq Saleh, Sabir al-Douri, Taher Tawfiq al-Ani and Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai in dock 2. Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa 3. Ali Hassan al-Majid 4. Chief Judge 5. Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai 6. Hussein Rashid Mohammed 7. Chief Judge 8. Tahir Tawfiq al-Ani 9. Chief Judge 10. Farhan Mutlaq Saleh 11. Chief Judge 12. Lawyer 13. Sabir al-Douri 14. Chief Judge 15. Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai Baghdad 16. Hussein Rashid Mohammed 17. Ali Hassan al-Majid (Chemical Ali) Halabja north of Baghdad 18. Sign reading: ''Welcome to Halabja'' 19. Wide of cemetery for victims of Anfal 20. Various of gravestones and monument representing man disfigured due to chemicals 21. Man reciting verses from Holy Qu'ran 22. People in street 23. Various of people watching television in caf� as verdict 24. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kurdish man, no name given: ''We want from Iraqi authorities to bring Ali Hassan al-Majid and his group to be executed at that cemetery (where the victims of Anfal are buried) 25. Caf� 26. Sabir al-Douri on television 27. People applauding in caf� as verdict is announced 28. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Kurdish man, no name given: ''The people of Halabja are glad to hear the decision of the Iraqi court to execute Ali Hassan and his group.'' Baghdad 29. Various of street scenes in central Baghdad 30. Various of newspapers on display 31. al-Iraq newspaper on display 32. Headline reading ''The defence team calls on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to prevent the execution of the defendants in the Anfal case'' 33. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Vox Pop, Karim Abass: ''As far as I'm concerned anybody or any official who commits a crime against his people should be punished. And the criminal wouldn't have been convicted unless he was found guilty.'' 34. Baghdad street 35. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Vox Pop, Juma al-Quraishi: ''The guilty should be punished in a fair way not like the previous trials. Law should prevail and any criminal should be punished.'' 36. Various of street STORYLINE An Iraqi court on Sunday sentenced Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, and two other former regime officials to death by hanging for their roles in a 1980s scorched-earth campaign that led to the deaths of 180-thousand Kurds. Al-Majid, the former head of the Baath Party's Northern Bureau Command, trembled and stood silently as the judge read the verdict. The judge, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, said al-Majid was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for ordering army and security services to use chemical weapons in a large-scale offensive that killed or maimed thousands. Saddam's cousin is better known as "Chemical Ali", a nickname he earned for his alleged use of chemical weapons. Saddam's former defence minister and his armed forces deputy director were also sentenced to hang for their roles in the so-called "Operation Anfal" campaign. The judge sent former minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai to the gallows after ruling that the defendant ordered a large-scale attack against civilians and used chemical weapons and deportation against the Kurds. The former deputy director of operations for the Iraqi Armed Forces, Hussein Rashid Mohammed, was sentenced to death after he was convicted of drawing up military plans and other allegations against the Kurds. Two other former regime officials - Farhan Mutlaq Saleh, former head of military intelligence's eastern regional office, and former director of military intelligence under Saddam Hussein and Sabir al-Douri, were sentenced to life in prison. That decision had been expected as the prosecutor had requested that al-Ani be released. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/9bea7935964bbda5b24b32ac1ad6dc55 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork