Detention of Ali Hasan al-Majid

Ali Hasan al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali,” has been captured and is in custody of Coalition Forces. There are eye witness accounts and other evidence that Ali Hasan al-Majid is responsible for numerous atrocities, including ordering the use of chemical weapons on the people of Halabjah in 1988 which resulted in the death of approximately 5,000 people; brutalizing the Kuwaiti people by directing and permitting torture, murder, rape and wholesale looting as Governor of occupied Kuwait in 1990, and coordinating the suppression of the 1991 Shi’a insurgency in southern Iraq as Minister of the Interior.

Those responsible for atrocities committed against Iraqis should be held accountable for their actions before an Iraqi-led process. For those crimes committed against the nationals of other countries, the governments of those victims may also have an interest in seeking justice. The United States intends to ensure, with the help of the international community, that strong and credible processes are used to bring these perpetrators to justice.