Iraq's "Chemical Ali" gets second death sentence

By Waleed Ibrahim

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An Iraqi court sentenced Saddam Hussein's cousin "Chemical Ali" to death on Tuesday for crushing a Shi'ite revolt after the 1991 Gulf War.

It was the second death sentence to be handed down against Ali Hassan al-Majeed, who earned his nickname for his role in using poison gas against Kurdish villages.

He was first condemned to be hanged last year for the killing of tens of thousands of Kurds in the 1980s, but that sentence was held up by political wrangling.

Judge Mohammad al-Uraibi also sentenced a former top Baath party official, Abdul Ghani Abdul Ghafour, to hang for his involvement in the crackdown on Shi'ites in the south, and 10 others to sentences ranging from 15 years to life in prison.

The judge said the court had decided to execute Majeed "by hanging for committing wilful killings and crimes against humanity."

The court, the Iraqi High Tribunal, was set up to try former members of Saddam's government and was the same one that sentenced the former dictator to death.

Saddam was executed in December 2006 after being convicted of crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shi'ite men and boys after a 1982 assassination attempt.

Majeed's reputation for ruthless use of force to crush opponents won him widespread notoriety during Saddam's rule and led many Iraqis to fear him even more than the leader himself.