Court to give ruling in Anfal trial today

Baghdad: An Iraqi court will deliver its verdict today for six former high-ranking officials during Saddam Hussain's rule accused of leading a military campaign against ethnic Kurds in the 1980s that killed tens of thousands.

The most prominent is Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan Al Majid, known as Chemical Ali for his reported use of poison gas against opponents. Charges against Saddam, originally the seventh defendant, lapsed when he was executed in December in a separate case.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against five of the accused and the release of a sixth, the former governor of Mosul province in northern Iraq, for lack of evidence.

All six are charged with crimes against humanity, but Al Majid also faces the charge of genocide as the alleged architect of the campaign. Sentencing will also take place today.

International human rights groups said this week that the trial for the 1988 Anfal (Spoils of War) campaign had been marred by political interference and procedural flaws.

Seeking justice

But Kurds, who make up about 20 per cent of Iraq's population, have long sought justice. Their mountainous northern region is still haunted by the seven-month military operation in which mustard gas and nerve agents were used to clear villages.

Al Majid admitted during the trial he ordered troops to execute all Kurds who ignored orders to leave their villages. He did not, however, admit to ordering the use of chemical weapons. The defendants have said Anfal had legitimate military targets - Kurdish guerrillas who had sided with Iran during the last stage of the 1980-88 Iraq-Iran war.

But international legal experts have criticised the conduct of both the Anfal proceedings and the trial that led to Saddam's execution on December 30. In that trial Saddam was convicted over the deaths of 148 Shiites in the town of Dujail in the 1980s.

Human Rights Watch said this week an analysis of the Dujail court's judgment revealed "serious factual and legal errors|", including a failure to establish the responsibility of Saddam and his fellow accused for the acts of their subordinates.

Key events: Military campaign targeted ethnic Kurds

Following are details about the Anfal military campaign against ethnic Kurds in the 1980s that killed tens of thousands and the defendants:

• The military offensives were codenamed Anfal - Spoils of War and took place from February until late August 1988.
• Estimates of deaths made by Kurdish and international groups range from tens of thousands to 180,000.
• The trial opened on August 21, 2006, and heard dozens of witnesses who described chemical air attacks, villages being burned and Kurds being rounded up and tortured.
• Thousands of Kurds, including many women and children, were taken from their villages, executed and then dumped in mass graves in northern and southern Iraq, prosecutors said.
• Certain areas were declared 'out of bounds to all persons and animals' and troops were allowed to open fire at will.
• Saddam had said he would take responsibility 'with honour' for any attacks on Iran using conventional or chemical weapons but denied using poison gas on Iraqis.
• The chemical attack on the village of Halabja in March 1988, which killed 5,000 people, is not seen as part of Anfal.

Defendants

All defendants face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, but Ali Hassan Al Majid faces the additional charge of genocide.

The prosecution is seeking the death penalty against five of the accused but has called for charges to be dropped against Taher Al Ani for lack of evidence.

• Ali Hassan Al Majid, Saddam's cousin and alleged architect of Anfal.
• Sabir Al Douri, director of military intelligence.
• Taher Al Ani, head of the Northern Affairs Committee and governor of Mosul province.
• Hussain Rashid Mohammad, deputy of operations for the Iraqi Armed Forces.
• Farhan Salih, head of military intelligence in the Eastern Regional Office.
• Sultan Hashim, commander of Task Force Anfal and Iraqi Army First Corps. He later served as defence minister.