‘I hope he rots away in jail and gets eaten by worms’: Halbjans on Chemical Ali

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (a London-based independent non-profit organisation supporting regional media and democratic change, see here, has posted two articles on Halbjans reactions to the upcoming trial of Ali Hasan Majeed, or Chemical Ali.

Talar Nadir reports on Halbjans reaction to the trial. ‘A large majority of Halabjans are adamant that Majeed's trial must take place in the town itself, not Baghdad. Salar Mahmood, a member of the National Guard, voiced the opinion of many, saying, "He needs to be prosecuted before the eyes of the people of Halabja."’. Chia Hama-Saeed, a civil servant at Halabja's Martyrs Hospital, shares Maliha's view. Both Hama-Saeed and her brother were half-blinded by the poisonous gas attack, and their mother died of a cancer they relate directly too the chemical doses they received. Chemical Ali should be kept in a jail where he can see the graveyard and the destroyed streets of our town," she said. "He and Saddam should not be killed, they should be made to die a little every day."

Amanj Khalil reports on the December 6 arrest of 62-year-old Frans Van Anraat, a Dutch citizen taken into custody in the Netherlands to answer allegations that he supplied Saddam Hussein with the means to make chemical weapons. ‘In a bid to strengthen the prosecution's case, a group of Halabja victims are now trying to record the names of all the people who died in the attack. Another committee has been formed to visit towns across the border in Iran in an attempt to gather more evidence of chemical attacks. "The Iranians have better records than the Iraqis, as they were able to film in Halabja a few days after the chemical attacks," explained Ibrahim Hawrami, manager of the Halabja Memorial Directorate, and the man responsible for maintaining records of the attack. "Left wing political parties in Holland have promised to cooperate with us on this." (AJ)