‘Chemical Ali’execution okayed

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BAGHDAD, Feb 29 (AP): Iraq’s presidential council has endorsed the execution within a month of Saddam Hussein’s cousin, known as ‘Chemical Ali’, for his role in the 1980s scorched-earth campaign against Kurds, officials said Friday. But it spared the life of two other officials amid Sunni protests that they were only following orders.
The approval by Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani and two vice presidents was the final step clearing the way for Ali Hassan al-Majid’s execution by hanging. It could now be carried out at any time, a government adviser and a prosecutor said.
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 was nicknamed “Chemical Ali” for ordering poison gas attacks that killed thousands.