Chemical Ali’s lawyer’s motions holding up Anfal trial

Closing remarks were heard Sunday by the Iraqi High Tribunal during the trial of several Iraqi officials who served under Saddam Hussein and are being tried for their participation in the “Anfal campaign,” Jurist reported the same day. The defendants, including Ali Hassan al-Majid – commonly known as “Chemical Ali” – are being tried for their involvement in the killings of tens of thousands of Kurds by using nerve agents and mustard gas. The defendants are waiting for the court to rule on several motions.

The defense lawyer in the case, Giovanni Di Stefano, said he possesses evidence that Saddam Hussein did not order “chemical attacks or weapons to be used.” Di Stefano added: “He further ordered that villages be ‘relocated’ not destroyed as the documents show. It was for this reason that there was a rush to execution of Saddam Hussein as I would have introduced these and more documents in my possession to the court.”

Additionally, Di Stefano submitted a motion calling for the exhumation of the deceased for forensic testing. In a recent statement defending his request for the defense’s own independent forensic pathologist and toxicologist, he said: “The indictments claim that the victims were murdered using chemical weapons. No post mortum or autopsy reports have been furnished to the defence (and Court) proving that anyone died from chemical attacks.”

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