By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 15 Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death by hanging by an Iraqi court. Saddam Hussein’s senior aide, also known as “Chemical Ali,” was convicted of ordering the gassing of the Kurds in the Iraqi town of Halabja in 1988. The attack killed an estimated five thousand people and took place near the end of the Iran-Iraq War. This marked the fourth time that Majid has been sentenced to death.

During the 1988 attacks, Iraqi jets swooped over the small north eastern Iraqi town. The jets proceeded to spray Halabja for five hours with a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and Tabun, Sarin and VX, all nerve agents. The was part of Iraq’s Anfal campaign, which Majid was in charge of overseeing. Most of the five thousand Kurds that died were women and children. Majid said “thanks be to God” as the sentence was being read.

Majid was a close cousin of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He earned his moniker from ordering the poisonous gas attacks in a campaign of bombings and mass deportations that killed over one hundred eighty thousand Kurds during the 1980s. He received his first death sentence from these attacks.

“Chemical Ali” received his second death sentence in December 2008 for war crimes committed during a 1991 Shi’ite uprising in southern Iraq that proved to be ill-fated. His third death sentence came in March 2009 for the 1999 murders of dozens of Shi’ites in Sadr City and Najaf.

It is not clear when Majid will ultimately be executed. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that it woudl take place soon. Dabbagh told Reuters that “it will not take a long time for Hassan al-Majid to receive his just punishment for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people.” Despite the wishes of Iraqi authorities, Majid still has the right to appeal to the sentence.

Majid’s first execution was due to be carried out by October 2007. It was ultimately delayed so as not to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Majid was first captured in August 2003, five months after US-led forces invaded Iraq.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraq’s ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

Al Jazeera – ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

BBC – Fourth Death Sentence for ‘Chemical Ali’ – 17 January 2010

Reuters – Iraq’s “Chemical Ali” gets 4th Death Sentence – 17 January 2010

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 15 Ali Hassan al-Majid was sentenced to death by hanging by an Iraqi court. Saddam Hussein’s senior aide, also known as “Chemical Ali,” was convicted of ordering the gassing of the Kurds in the Iraqi town of Halabja in 1988. The attack killed an estimated five thousand people and took place near the end of the Iran-Iraq War. This marked the fourth time that Majid has been sentenced to death.

During the 1988 attacks, Iraqi jets swooped over the small north eastern Iraqi town. The jets proceeded to spray Halabja for five hours with a deadly cocktail of mustard gas and Tabun, Sarin and VX, all nerve agents. The was part of Iraq’s Anfal campaign, which Majid was in charge of overseeing. Most of the five thousand Kurds that died were women and children. Majid said “thanks be to God” as the sentence was being read.

Majid was a close cousin of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. He earned his moniker from ordering the poisonous gas attacks in a campaign of bombings and mass deportations that killed over one hundred eighty thousand Kurds during the 1980s. He received his first death sentence from these attacks.

“Chemical Ali” received his second death sentence in December 2008 for war crimes committed during a 1991 Shi’ite uprising in southern Iraq that proved to be ill-fated. His third death sentence came in March 2009 for the 1999 murders of dozens of Shi’ites in Sadr City and Najaf.

It is not clear when Majid will ultimately be executed. Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said that it woudl take place soon. Dabbagh told Reuters that “it will not take a long time for Hassan al-Majid to receive his just punishment for the crimes he committed against the Iraqi people.” Despite the wishes of Iraqi authorities, Majid still has the right to appeal to the sentence.

Majid’s first execution was due to be carried out by October 2007. It was ultimately delayed so as not to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Majid was first captured in August 2003, five months after US-led forces invaded Iraq.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraq’s ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

Al Jazeera – ‘Chemical Ali’ Sentenced to Death – 17 January 2010

BBC – Fourth Death Sentence for ‘Chemical Ali’ – 17 January 2010

Reuters – Iraq’s “Chemical Ali” gets 4th Death Sentence – 17 January 2010

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 14 an Iraqi court sentenced eleven Iraqis to death for the planning and carrying out of a bomb attack on August 19 of last year. Among those sentenced were Al Qaeda militants. The bombings took place in Baghdad as truck bombs were used to kill over one hundred people. Six hundred people were hurt in the blasts, which were named “Black Wednesday.”

According to Ali Abdul Sattar, president of the criminal court, the eleven Iraqis “are sentenced to death for the crime they planned.” The trial of the bombers was the first that convicted suspects arrested in the wake of of three major attacks that took place in the second half of 2009.

Among those sentenced were Ishaq Mohammed Abbas, a purported leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and his brother Mustapha. Additionally, Salim Abed Jassim was sentenced to death. Jassim confessed that he received funding for the attacks from Brigadier General Nabil Abdul Rahman. Rahman was a senior army officer during the rule of Saddam Hussein.

The August 19 bombings took place minutes apart outside the ministries of foreign affairs and finance. The attacks marked the worst violence in Iraq in eighteen months and sparked outrage throughout the country from citizens concerned about how insurgents had been able to accomplish such an attack. Despite the outrage, similar attacks were able to be carried out by insurgents in October and December, where government buildings were again struck.

The government admitted that the August attacks were advanced by negligence at checkpoints that allowed the bombers to enter the capital with their explosives. A number of policemen in charge of the area were arrested on suspicion of negligence. While none of them were charged, Iraqi official say that they are still under investigation.

The attack created diplomatic tension between Iraq and Syria, with both governments recalling their ambassadors after Syria refused to hand over two alleged suspects.

Violence in Iraq dropped significantly in 2009 to its lowest level since the 2003 invasion. However, a monitoring group warned that the security gains are leveling off. Iraqi officials anticipate further bombings are expected ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 7.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Iraq Sentences 11 Men to Death Over Baghdad Bombings – 14 January 2010

Al Jazeera – Death Sentences for Iraq Bombers – 14 January 2010

BBC News – Death Sentences for Iraq Bombers Behind Huge Attack – 14 January 2010

New York Times – Iraq Sentences 11 to Death in Ministry Bombings – 14 January 2010

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

TEL AVIV, Israel – Jared Malsin, the editor-in-chief of Ma’an News Agency’s English edition, has been detained by Israeli authorities at Ben Gurion International Airport on January 12, as Malsin returned from a holiday in the Czech Republic. Malsin is a Jewish American and Ma’an News Agency is a major Palestinian news outlet, based in Bethlehem in the West Bank.

 

After interrogating Malsin for eight hours, the Israeli Interior Ministry ordered officials not to admit Malsin into Israel and had scheduled him to be deported to the Czech Republic on a flight at 6 am on January 14. Castro Daoud, an attorney for Ma’an, as well as diplomats from the United States embassy, intervened on Malsin’s behalf and requested an injunction against the deportation. The Israeli attorney general rejected the request, but that decision was overturned by a Tel Aviv judge, who granted Malsin a hearing, scheduled for January 17.

 

Court documents revealed that Malsin was apparently deemed a security risk because of his political opinions. Interior Ministry interrogators reportedly compiled Malsin’s past stories for Ma’an, including those “criticizing the State of Israel.” The interrogators further questioned Malsin’s motives in wanting to enter the West Bank, adding that he “claimed to be Jewish,” and argued that Malsin “exploited his Jewishness to gain entry into the State of Israel.” Court records showed that among the specific reasons for detaining Malsin included “lying to border officials,” “here illegally,” and “entered into Israel by means of lies.” According to Israeli law, Jews from around the world are eligible to immigrate to Israel.

 

Malsin’s detention has provoked sharp rebukes from international press organizations, including the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which called the detention “unacceptable.”

 

“Israel cannot hide behind the pretext of security to sideline journalists who have done nothing more than maintain an editorial line that the authorities dislike,” said Mohamed Abdel Dayem, the Middle East and North Africa coordinator for CPJ.

 

Malsin had lived in Bethlehem with his partner, Faith Rowold, for two years. Malsin had originally come to Israel on the Birthright program, and had never overstayed his visa, except for his most recent one, which was only a few days overdue. He had reportedly been told by Israeli authorities that this was not a problem. According to a colleague at Ma’an, Malsin was in frequent contact with Israeli officials, and was recently offered access to military installations in the West Bank.

 

Ma’an issued a statement saying it “scrupulously maintains its editorial independence and aims to promote access to information, freedom of expression, press freedom, and media pluralism in Palestine.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

Palestine News Network – US Editor Fights Israel For Denying Him Entry – 15 January 2010

 

BBC News – US Editor at Palestinian Agency Fights Israel Entry Ban – 14 January 2010

 

Ma’an News Agency – Tel Aviv Court Delay’s Ma’an Editor’s Expulsion – 14 January 2010

 

International Middle East Media Center – Chief Editor of Major Palestinian News Agency Detained – 13 January 2010

 

New York Times – Israel to Expel American Journalist – 13 January 2010

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BAGHDAD, Iraq – On January 12 Iraqi security forces arrested twenty five people suspected of plotting attacks throughout Baghdad . They then imposed a temporary curfew on parts of Iraqi capital as they conducted raids and seized explosives. The raid followed a tip-off that a series of car bombings were planned in Baghdad. Security forces were already on heightened alert ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for March 7.

Iraqi police confiscated four hundred forty pounds of C4 explosives, the same amount of TNT and sixty other explosives of different types. Additionally, according to Baghdad security forces spokesman Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, a quantity of ammonium nitrate was found. Ammonium nitrate can be used as an ingredient in bombs.

According to Moussawi, the twenty five men who were arrested “were planning to implement terrorist acts.” Authorities in Iraq also said that at least four, and as many as ten, suicide car bombers were on their way to government buildings on the morning of January 12 when there were stopped by police and arrested.

The raids that followed brought much of Baghdad to a virtual standstill. Hundreds of checkpoints were set up throughout the city. The lockdowns caused gridlock of vehicles on roads into Baghdad. People were forced to travel by foot. Bridges into the center of the city were closed due to the alleged bomb plot, but were later reopened.

Government officials said that the far-reaching plot involved sending suicide bombers with vehicles packed with explosives to blow themselves up at the Ministries of Defense, Health and Trade. Other areas that were to be targeted included public places such as markets. Other insurgents were to be sent to assassinate political and tribal leaders. Mohammed al Askari, a defense ministry spokesman, said that the Iraqi forces received “tips about places (where people were making) car and vest bombs.” This led to the raids by security forces.

American and Iraqi forces have said that there is an expectation that violence will increase sharply as the date of the Iraqi elections grows nearer. The outcome of the Iraqi elections could determine whether American forces are able to withdraw from the country on schedule by the end of 2011.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Arrests, Explosives Seized as Baghdad Car Bombs Foiled – 12 January 2010

Al Jazeera – Bomb Plot Prompts Baghdad Lockdown – 12 January 2010

New York Times – Iraq Says Raid Uncovered Plot to Bomb Ministries – 12 January 2010

Reuters – Iraqi Forces Seize Explosives, Arrest 25 in Raids – 12 January 2010