BAGHDAD, Dec. 2, 2008

"Chemical Ali" Sentenced To Death, Again

Saddam Hussein's Cousin Receives Second Death Penalty For Suppression Of Shiites

    • Ali Hassan al-Majid would be the fifth former regime official hanged for alleged atrocities against Iraqis during Saddam's nearly three-decade rule.

      Ali Hassan al-Majid would be the fifth former regime official hanged for alleged atrocities against Iraqis during Saddam's nearly three-decade rule.  (AP Photo/Nikola Solic, Pool)

    • Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin, known as

      Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein's notorious cousin, known as "Chemical Ali," reacts as a special Iraqi court sentenced him to death Dec. 2, 2008, in Baghdad, Iraq, after convicting him of crimes against humanity while crushing the 1991 Shiite uprising in southern Iraq.  (AP Photo/APTN)

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  • Photo Essay Saddam's Final Moments

    Saddam Hussein went to the gallows Dec. 30, 2006. Contains photos some may find disturbing.

(CBS/AP)  A special Iraqi court has sentenced Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as "Chemical Ali," to death for his role in the 1991 suppression of a Shiite uprising.

"Chemical Ali," whose real name is Ali Hassan al-Majid, is already under death sentence for the crackdown on Kurds in northern Iraq in the late 1980s. Two other officials and Sunni protestors that were only following orders were spared.

Former Baath party official Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Ghafur also received a death sentence Tuesday at the end of the trial that began in August 2007.

Four defendants received life sentences, six face 15-year sentences and three were acquitted.

Al-Majid was nicknamed "Chemical Ali" for ordering poison gas attacks that killed thousands.

Former Defense Minister Sultan Hashim Ahmad al-Tai also faces the gallows in the 1980s Kurdish crackdown but is among those receiving a 15-year sentence Tuesday.

Al-Majid was one of three former Saddam officials sentenced to death in June after being convicted by an Iraqi court of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their part in the Operation Anfal crackdown that killed nearly 200,000 Kurdish civilians and guerrillas.

Al-Majid would be the fifth former regime official hanged for alleged atrocities against Iraqis during Saddam's nearly three-decade rule.

Saddam, who also had been a defendant in the so-called Anfal trial, was hanged Dec. 30, 2006, for ordering the killings of more than 140 Shiite Muslims from the Iraqi city of Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt against him.

© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 23 Comments
by cockamammy December 4, 2008 10:03 PM EST
OF COURse THE LIBERALS ARE SUPPORTING THIS GUY
Posted by MrMeatSpin at 11:16 AM : Dec 03, 2008
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*** does that mean? What does a liberal have to do with a murderous thug like Ali? Yeah, liberals are more progressive in their social, political, fiscal beliefs but they don''t support murderous thugs like this jerk. Do both liberals and conservatives alike a favor and refrain from posting stupid comments that make no sense whatsoever.
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by jtizzle611 December 4, 2008 8:12 AM EST
impeach___w: are you an idiot? or did you not learn how to read? if you read the article, you would have seen that this guy was responsible for over 200,000 deaths. i don''t know where you''re from, but in most places if you kill one person you get the death penalty.
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by evian_ycnan December 3, 2008 2:35 PM EST
Hopefully Olin, Dow, and DuPont received their copies of Ali Hassan al-Majid''s reports on the efficacy of their products.

Shouldn`t all be for naught.

Lysergic acid diethylamide -- Better living through chemistry
Reply to this comment
by mrmeatspin December 3, 2008 2:16 PM EST
OF COURse THE LIBERALS ARE SUPPORTING THIS GUY
Reply to this comment
by armydog2 December 3, 2008 11:23 AM EST
Just follow thru with the execution already, he can only die once and he won''t get any virgins either.
Reply to this comment
by boandco December 3, 2008 3:45 AM EST
jgunther7 says: They don%u2019t dare let him talk to the press, he might tell how George Bush Snr head of CIA, Rich Cheney and Ronald Rumsfeldt gave him the chemicals and told him where and how to use them. The only way they can keep him quiet is to kill him. After you%u2019ve murdered over a million people, I guess one more must be easy.

Yes, but his blood and the blood of all those Iraqis killed in this illegal war is on our hands.
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by impeach___w December 2, 2008 7:52 PM EST
Why does he deserve to be hanged but not rumsfield or Cheney. They provided materials and intellegenge on when and how to use this on Iran.
Reply to this comment
by dixxson-2009 December 2, 2008 5:02 PM EST
What was Chemical Ali''s Job?
What was His Crime?
The same job Wernher Von Braun did for Hitler?
The same job Von Braun and Dr Edward Teller did for the US in Space on Hiroshima" and Nagasaki Japan?
The Bush War Crimes are without End"
Reply to this comment
by aldon61 December 2, 2008 2:04 PM EST
There aren''t too many people that deserve hanging more than this demented idiot. Do it quickly and let''s get on with our lives.
Reply to this comment
by impeach___w December 2, 2008 2:00 PM EST
"Tell the Cambodians that we will be friends with them," Kissinger told an official in the region, according to a declassified State Department account. The Khmer Rouge "are murderous thugs," he said, "but we won''t let that stand in our way."
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by matrixrx2003 December 2, 2008 1:52 PM EST
the iraqui people also want george bush and his entire cabinet and all those that invaded them dead as well.

Posted by andrew_693

Andrew_693

George W. Bush is Brain Dead anyway and has been since birth !
Reply to this comment
by matrixrx2003 December 2, 2008 1:50 PM EST
He should be killed the same way he did the others with chemicals, give him a taste of his own medication.
Reply to this comment
by andrew_693 December 2, 2008 1:23 PM EST
The Iraqi People want Chemical Ali dead. Politics is more important than protocol. The Judge should order an immediate execution.
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Posted by Petro49L at 08:25 AM : Dec 02, 2008


the iraqui people also want george bush and his entire cabinet and all those that invaded them dead as well.
Reply to this comment
by pirmin3 December 2, 2008 12:46 PM EST
Put a rope around his neck and his feet and see which come off first.
Reply to this comment
by jgunther7 December 2, 2008 12:43 PM EST
They don%u2019t dare let him talk to the press, he might tell how George Bush Snr head of CIA, *** Cheney and Ronal Rumsfeldt gave him the chemicals and told him where and how to use them. The only way they can keep him quiet is to kill him. After you%u2019ve murdered over a million people, I guess one more must be easy.
Reply to this comment
by metsobitso December 2, 2008 12:18 PM EST
Maybe we can blame him for the Mumbai bombings. It might take some of the heat off Condo Rice.
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by honestabe8 December 2, 2008 12:14 PM EST
How many times does he have to be sentenced to death before they actually execute him?
Reply to this comment
by excoachken December 2, 2008 11:47 AM EST
O.K., time for Ali to get the "Stretch Armstrong" neck test.
Reply to this comment
by andrew_693 December 2, 2008 11:27 AM EST
well if they are going to hang him than we should have hung ronald reagan and everyone that has voted for him too because they all supported the gasing of the kurds and all the atrocities committed by this regime. Don''t forget, reagan vetoed a UN resolution that condemmed iraq and wanted to impose sanctions on him for these human right violations, and if my thoughts are correct all the right wing christians oppose anything that comes from the amnesty organization. They should also hang bush, because he has killed more women and children than hussein and he violated human rights in at least 2 countries.
Reply to this comment
by petro49l December 2, 2008 11:25 AM EST
The Iraqi People want Chemical Ali dead. Politics is more important than protocol. The Judge should order an immediate execution.
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