Former Iraqi general Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali, has once again been sentenced to death for ordering the gassing of Kurds. The Iraqi High Tribunal in Baghdad found him guilty of ordering a chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja in 1988, killing thousands of people.

Majid acquired the nickname ‘butcher of Kurdistan’ for his bloody campaign against ethnic Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s, which claimed an estimated 180.000 lives. It is the fourth time that Majid, a first cousin of Saddam Hussein, has been sentenced to death or given a prison sentence on several charges, including war crimes committed against Iraq’s Shi’ite population.

The Iraqi High Tribunal also sentenced former defence minister Sultan Hashem to 15 years in prison for his part in the Halabja attack.

Three quarters of the victims of the gas attack were women and children. For Kurds, Halabja is the single most traumatic atrocity they suffered during Saddam Hussein's rule, which was brought to an end US and British forces. Chemical Ali was captured in 2003, five months after the invasion of Iraq.

Ali Hassan al-Majid/photo Wikipedia