Iraq High Court Sentences Aziz, Chemical Ali To 15 Years; Saddam Half-Brothers Get Death Penalty

March 12, 2009 1:35 a.m. EST

Baghdad, Iraq (AHN) - Iraq's high court on Wednesday sentenced former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz and former defense minister Hassan al-Majid, a.k.a. Chemical Ali, to 15 years imprisonment for the killing of 42 alleged profiteers in 1992.

The Iraqi High Tribunal also ordered the hanging of ex-president Saddam Hussein's two half-brothers, former presidential adviser Watban Ibrahim and former intelligence chief Sabawi Ibrahim, for the killing of the flour merchants accused of racketeering during economic sanctions.

Two other Iraqi officials involved in the trial were sentenced to six and 15 years while the former head of the country's central bank was acquitted for the said crime.

It was the first conviction of Aziz, who was the foreign minister before becoming deputy prime minister. Last week, he was acquitted of charges of killing Shia Muslim protesters in Baghdad in 1999. Majid, who was also charged for the massacre, received a death sentence on March 2.

Aziz, 73, had denied any role in the execution of the merchants. His lawyer said he was out of the country when the alleged profiteers were killed.

Sabawi Ibrahim proclaimed he was proud to be a martyr upon hearing the death sentence, according to BBC.