[JURIST] The Appeals Chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal [official website] on Tuesday upheld the death sentences [JURIST report] of three defendants convicted for their roles in the slaughter of ten of thousands of Kurds during the 1988 Anfal campaign [HRW backgrounder]. The defendants, including Saddam Hussein's cousin and former Iraqi defense minister Ali Hassan al-Majid [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], will be executed within 30 days. The court also affirmed the life sentences against two other defendants who appealed their sentences [JURIST report] in July.

Al-Majid, also known as Chemical Ali, is currently on trial [JURIST report] on separate crimes against humanity charges for his alleged role in the violent suppression of a predominately Shi'a uprising [HRW backgrounder] in southern Iraq following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. In July, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh said that al-Majid will be executed in the Kurdish town of Halabja [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

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