Iraq's 'chemical Ali' Gets Second Death Sentence for Shia Massacre

Ali Hassan al-Majid, the cousin of Saddam Hussein known as "Chemical Ali", has received a second death sentence for the mass killing of Shias during an uprising in southern Iraq after the 1991 Gulf war.

Majid had already been condemned to death by hanging for his role in the killing of tens of thousands of Kurds.

Majid served as Iraq's intelligence chief and defence minister under Saddam. He was one of three former officials sentenced to death in June after being convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for their part in the Anfal (Spoils) campaign, which killed 180,000 Kurdish civilians and guerrillas.

Majid, one of the most feared and ruthless of the Ba'ath leaders, achieved notoriety for his role in the Anfal campaign and the gassing of Kurds in Halabja in 1988.

But he was also behind the brutal suppression of the abortive southern Shia uprising that followed the expulsion of Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991.

After the US invasion he was listed as the fifth most-wanted man in Iraq, shown as the King of Spades in the deck of most-wanted Iraqi playing cards. He was captured in August 2003.