An Iraqi tribunal Wednesday sentenced former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and others to 15 years for the deaths of 42 businessmen exploiting U.N. sanctions.
Aziz, along with Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as “Chemical Ali,” were handed 15-year prison sentences Wednesday by the Iraqi High Tribunal for their role in the 1992 deaths of 42 Baghdad merchants accused of exploiting market conditions while Iraq was under the U.N. sanctions regime.
This is the first sentence given to Aziz, a 72-year-old Christian who faced several other charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court acquitted Aziz on charges stemming from atrocities committed during the violent suppression of Kurdish and Shiite uprisings by the regime of Saddam Hussein.
Aziz, who turned himself into U.S. forces in April 2003, told the court he was proud of his membership in the now-outlawed Baath Party but added he was not responsible for the 1992 deaths, al-Arabiya reports.
His lawyer, Giovanni di Stefano, told the BBC World Service on Wednesday the sentence was politically motivated, noting that given Aziz’s age and credit for time served, the term was notably lenient.
Two of Saddam’s half brothers, Watban Ibrahim Hassan and Sabaawi Ibrahim Hassan, were given death sentences for their role in the 1992 killings.
