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Netherlands high court upholds conviction of Saddam chemical weapons supplier

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The Dutch Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the 2005 war crimes conviction of a Dutch businessman convicted of selling chemicals used by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to create chemical weapons. Frans Van Anraat was convicted of selling 1,100 tons of thiodiglycol (TDG) to the Iraqi government in the 1980s, which was used to produce mustard gas used against Iraqis and Iranians during the Iran-Iraq War. The court found that the record, including Van Anraat's continuing role as Iraq's sole supplier of TDG after the death of 5,000 Iraqis in the 1988 Hajabla attack, showed that his participation was intentional. The court did not address damage awards for the victims of Saddam's gas attacks that had sued Van Anraat, saying the matter was "too complicated," and took six months off of Van Anraat's 17-year sentence to compensate for a long trial wait. Prior to the Supreme Court hearing the case, Van Anraat had appealed his conviction on charges of complicity in war crimes to the Court of Appeal, which also upheld the conviction in May 2007. Dutch prosecutors have appealed Van Anraat's acquittal on complicity in genocide charges, which carry an additional 30-year sentence if proven. Saddam Hussein also stood trial on genocide charges related to the Anfal Campaign, including the Halabja attacks, but was executed on unrelated charges before trial was complete.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).