Iraq's 'Chemical Ali' gets death sentence, Tariq Aziz acquitted
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
An Iraqi judge has given death sentences to three former officials in Saddam Hussein's regime for slayings and abuses against Shiites a decade ago.
The defendants include Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali," for ordering poison gas attacks in the 1980s.
The sentences Monday were for a 1999 crackdown that sought to quell a Shiite backlash to the slaying of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad al-Sadr. His supporters blame the killing on Saddam's agents.
Three other former Saddam officials received life sentences while two were acquitted, including former Foreign Minster Tariq Aziz.