mowers
24th December 2005, 09:03 AM
Killing of Iraq Kurds 'genocide' - BBC
Victims of the 1988 Halabja chemical gas attack
Halabja was one of the worst atrocities of Saddam's regime
A court in The Hague has ruled that the killing of thousands of Kurds in Iraq in the 1980s was an act of genocide.
The ruling came in the case of Dutch trader Frans van Anraat, who was given a 15-year sentence for selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein's regime.
He was found guilty of complicity in war crimes over a 1988 chemical attack that killed more than 5,000 people, but acquitted of genocide charges.
It is the first trial to deal with war crimes against Kurds in Iraq and Iran.
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'Intent to destroy'
Dozens of ethnic Kurds gathered in the packed courtroom to hear the verdict.
The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq
Court ruling
"The court thinks and considers legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets requirement under Genocide Conventions as an ethnic group," the ruling said.
"The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq."
Correspondents say the outcome of the trial is not expected to have a direct effect on charges being prepared by a special Iraqi tribunal against Saddam Hussein.
He is on trial over the killing of 148 people in Dujail in 1982, and denies responsibility.
'Contribution'
Van Anraat was not in court to hear the verdict.
Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat, 2003
Frans van Anraat lived in Iraq for several years
He was charged with supplying thousands of tons of raw materials for chemical weapons used in the 1980-1988 war against Iran, and against Iraqi Kurds.
The court found him guilty of aiding war crimes, as "his deliveries facilitated the attacks", including one with mustard gas on Halabja in northern Iraq.
"He cannot counter with the argument that this would have happened even without his contribution," the presiding judge said.
However, the judges ruled that van Anraat was not aware of the genocidal intentions of the Iraqi regime when he sold the ingredients for poison gas.
Victims' relatives clapped when the sentence was read out, while dozens danced in a circle to drums outside the court.
Defence lawyers said they would appeal against the sentence, which was the maximum that could be imposed for the charge.
The 63-year-old was arrested in 1989 in Milan, Italy, at the request of the US Government.
He was later released and fled to Iraq, where he remained until 2003.
After the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, he returned to the Netherlands and was arrested in December 2004 at his Amsterdam home.
<font color="blue">mowers, please can you provide a link for this article<!--color-->[/color]
Victims of the 1988 Halabja chemical gas attack
Halabja was one of the worst atrocities of Saddam's regime
A court in The Hague has ruled that the killing of thousands of Kurds in Iraq in the 1980s was an act of genocide.
The ruling came in the case of Dutch trader Frans van Anraat, who was given a 15-year sentence for selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein's regime.
He was found guilty of complicity in war crimes over a 1988 chemical attack that killed more than 5,000 people, but acquitted of genocide charges.
It is the first trial to deal with war crimes against Kurds in Iraq and Iran.
Click here to send us your comments
'Intent to destroy'
Dozens of ethnic Kurds gathered in the packed courtroom to hear the verdict.
The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq
Court ruling
"The court thinks and considers legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets requirement under Genocide Conventions as an ethnic group," the ruling said.
"The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq."
Correspondents say the outcome of the trial is not expected to have a direct effect on charges being prepared by a special Iraqi tribunal against Saddam Hussein.
He is on trial over the killing of 148 people in Dujail in 1982, and denies responsibility.
'Contribution'
Van Anraat was not in court to hear the verdict.
Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat, 2003
Frans van Anraat lived in Iraq for several years
He was charged with supplying thousands of tons of raw materials for chemical weapons used in the 1980-1988 war against Iran, and against Iraqi Kurds.
The court found him guilty of aiding war crimes, as "his deliveries facilitated the attacks", including one with mustard gas on Halabja in northern Iraq.
"He cannot counter with the argument that this would have happened even without his contribution," the presiding judge said.
However, the judges ruled that van Anraat was not aware of the genocidal intentions of the Iraqi regime when he sold the ingredients for poison gas.
Victims' relatives clapped when the sentence was read out, while dozens danced in a circle to drums outside the court.
Defence lawyers said they would appeal against the sentence, which was the maximum that could be imposed for the charge.
The 63-year-old was arrested in 1989 in Milan, Italy, at the request of the US Government.
He was later released and fled to Iraq, where he remained until 2003.
After the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, he returned to the Netherlands and was arrested in December 2004 at his Amsterdam home.
<font color="blue">mowers, please can you provide a link for this article<!--color-->[/color]