'Chemical Ali' defiant in court
2007-01-23 14:15
Baghdad - Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali" defied Iraqi court officials on Tuesday by refusing to make a statement at the genocide trial in Baghdad of six former regime officials.
The tribunal resumed after a 12-day break, with chief judge Mohammed al-Oreibi al-Khalifah asking the six defendants to make statements before prosecutors presented additional documentary evidence against the accused.
"I have no testimony to present to the court unless I am given the chance to see my lawyer," said Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as "Chemical Ali".
Another of the accused, former military intelligence chief Sabir al-Duri, followed Majid's lead and also refused to make a statement.
The judge then switched off microphones in the court amid heated discussions with the two defendants.
Majid and five other top officials of the former regime are being tried for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity over the deaths of 182 000 Kurds during the 1988 Anfal campaign.
The accused say the campaign was a vital counter-insurgency operation against Kurdish guerrillas who sided with the enemy during Iraq's devastating 1980-88 war with Iran.
Saddam executed
Saddam, the other key defendant in the genocide trial, was hanged on December 30 for crimes against humanity following a separate trial for the killing of 148 Shiite villagers in the 1980s.
After his execution, the Iraqi High Tribunal dropped all outstanding charges against Saddam, who like Majid was also accused of genocide in the Anfal trial.
Since Saddam's hanging, Majid, a former head of Iraq's northern command who owes his nickname to charges that he gassed thousands of Kurdish civilians, has taken centre stage in the genocide hearings.
During the last session on January 11, he admitted ordering troops to execute Kurdish villagers who refused to leave their homes during the military campaign against the northern Kurdish region.
"Yes, I gave my instructions to consider these villages as prohibited areas and I gave orders to the troops to catch anyone they find there and execute them after investigating them," Majid told the court.
"I'm responsible for the displacement and I took this decision alone, without going back to the high military command or Baath party commander. I say that before your court and before God," he added.