Iraq’s Tareq Aziz gets 7 years jail in Kurds case

Tareq Aziz, Iraq’s former deputy prime minister under Saddam Hussein, has been sentenced to seven years in jail for his part in the forced displacement of Kurds from the oil-rich northeast of the country.

In March, he was handed a 15-year prison term for his involvement in the deaths of dozens of businessmen for breaking state price controls in 1992. Lawyers say the sentences will be added together and the 73-year-old will serve 22 years in jail. Aziz was cleared of the killing and displacing of Shi’ite Muslims in 1999. The court found Saddam’s cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, guilty of the crimes and he was handed a third death sentence. Majid, known as “Chemical Ali” for his use of poison gas to kill Kurds in the 1980s, has also been sentenced to 15 years in jail, along with Aziz. Political disputes have delayed his execution.More about: Iraq

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