‘Chemical Ali’ to be executed in Halabja to mark gas attack: Iraq Deputy PM News
‘Chemical Ali’ to be executed in Halabja to mark gas attack: Iraq Deputy PM

[JURIST] Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh announced Saturday that Ali Hassan al-Majid, often called "Chemical Ali", will be hanged in the Kurdish town of Halabja where a notorious 1988 gas attack [US State Department backgrounder] by Saddam Hussein's forces during the 1988 "Anfal campaign" led to the deaths of over 5000 Kurds, many of them children. In late June, al-Majid received a total of five death sentences [JURIST report] for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the campaign. He has repeatedly denied the allegations against him [JURIST report], stating that he does not know who used chemical weapons or "if they were ever used." The appeals chamber of the Iraqi High Tribunal [official report] is currently considering al-Majid's appeal; if it is denied, Iraqi law stipulates that he be executed within 30 days.

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] was also a co-defendant in the Anfal genocide trial [JURIST news archive] before he was executed in December 2006. Iraqi officials had previously suggested that al-Majid would be executed in Kurdistan [JURIST report], but had not indicated precisely where. AFP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Montgomery started racially-integrated bus service after boycott

On December 21, 1956, buses in Montgomery, Alabama, started racially integrated service following federal court rulings ending on-board segregation. Bus boycott leaders Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy were among the first riders under the new scheme. Learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Stalin born

On December 21, 1879, Joseph Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia. In 1922, he became leader of the USSR until his death in 1953. During his time as Soviet dictator, Stalin industrialized his country, which he then led to become one of the world's two superpowers after WWII. Through his infamous purges, show trials and nationwide famines, Stalin also became responsible for millions of deaths.