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Tareq Aziz

Tareq Aziz

Iraqi Baath Party

Iraq-Jordan

20040629

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Iraq

Aziz gets life sentence for killing Kurds

2011-05-04

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Iraq’s Higher Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced Iraq’s former deputy premier, Tareq Aziz, to life in prison in Barzanis’ Anfal case. “Former interior minister Saadon Shaker was sentenced to death, while former officer in the republic guard, Sufian Hameed, will spend his life behind bars,” according to al-Iraqiya channel. Not that it'll be long...

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Iraq

Death penalty for three Saddam-era spies

2011-04-22

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's High Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced to death three Saddam Hussein-era spies convicted of assassinating the father of a sitting Iraqi lawmaker in Beirut in April 1994. "The court sentences to death Hadi Hassuni, Abdul Hassan al-Majid and Farukh Hijazi, who were agents of the intelligence services," tribunal spokesman Mohammed Abdul Saheb told AFP. Two other men, military intelligence chief Saber Duri and Saddam's secretary Abdul Hamid Mahmoud, were sentenced to life imprisonment at the conclusion of the trial, which began in October 2009. See the companion story from Aswat al-Iraq. Sabawi Ibrahim Hassan, the executed dictator's half-brother, and Saddam's deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz were acquitted in the trial. Those two will still swing, just not for this one. The convictions came over the murder of Sheikh Taleb al-Suhail al-Tamimi, head of the Banu Tamim tribe, who fled Iraq for the Lebanese capital with his family after a Baath Party coup in 1968. He later attempted his own coup against Saddam, who rose to power in 1979, but was gunned down outside his Beirut home on April 14, 1994. Lebanon severed its ties with Iraq in the aftermath of the killing, but arrested five Iraqi diplomats and one Lebanese accomplice over the assassination. All but one were released without charge, with one diplomat having died in prison in Lebanon. The other four diplomats later returned to Iraq only to flee after the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam. Tamimi's daughter, Safia al-Suhail, has been an Iraqi lawmaker since 2005. She was elected to the Council of Representatives in March 2010 polls as part of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's slate, but is now an independent lawmaker. "I am satisfied because I have expected this decision for 15 years, but at the same time I will continue my fight to bring to justice those who managed to escape and take refuge abroad," Suhail told AFP by telephone.

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Iraq

Life sentence for 2 charged with killing "father" of Iraqi Legislature

2011-04-22

The wheels of justice do indeed grind exceedingly fine. Saddam had a hit put on al-Shuheil. See the companion story. BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The High Iraqi Criminal Court has issued life-imprisonment sentences for Sabir al-Douri and Abul-Hamid Mahmoud, charged with killing the Iraqi opposition leader, Sheikh Taleb al-Suheil in Beirut on April 12, 1994, the semi-official al-Iraqiya TV Channel reported on Thursday. The Iraqi opposition leader, Taleb Ali al-Shuheil, was assassinated in Beirut on April, 12, 1994. Lebanese security bodies had managed to arrest the men involved in the operation hours after it took place, including four diplomats of the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut, followed by the rapture of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The first court session was held on October 4, 2009, based on a complaint raised by the Iraqi Legislature, Safiya al-Suheil, Sheikh Taleb al-Suheil’s daughter, against Iraq’s former President Saddam Hussein, his Deputy Prime Minister, Tareq Aziz, Saddam’s Secretary, Abed Hmoud, Foreign Minister, Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, Chairman of the Intelligence Body, Sabir al-Douri and Iraq’s Ambassador to Jordan at that time, Nouri al-Wayis. Among other defendants, charged with having been involved in the assassination incident, were the Charge d’affaires in Beirut in 1994, Awadh Fakhri, the Cultural Attache, Mohammed al-Dhamdhumawi, the Trade Attache, Khalid Khalifa, the Iraqi Consul in Beirut, Ali Sultan Darwish, the Embassy Guard, Hadi Hassouna al-Rikaby and the defendant, charged with having facilitated the assassination of Taleb al-Suheil, George Terjinian, a Lebanese Armenian of an Iraqi origin.

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Iraq

Tareq Aziz gets life imprisonment

2011-03-17

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq – Iraq’s Supreme Criminal Court has issued a decision on Wednesday for life imprisonment against former Prime Minister during Iraq’s former ruling Baath Regime, Tareq Aziz, and former Interior Minister, Saadoun Shaker, the semi-official al-Iraqiya TV Satellite Channel reported. Life in an Iraqi prison? That works... “The Supreme Criminal Court has issued a decision for life-imprisonment against Tareq Aziz and Saadoun Shaker, for their part in annihilating religious men during the former regime’s time,” the Channel added, giving no further details.

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Iraq

Tariq Aziz gets 10 years in prison for Kurd killings

2010-11-30

[Emirates 24/7] An Iraqi court sentenced former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz to 10 years in prison on Monday for the displacement and killing of minority Faili Kurds during the rule of Saddam Hussein. And now we know, thanks to WikiLeaks, that Iraqi prisons are not up to American standards. Nor Iraqi prison guards. Do enjoy your stay, Former Deputy Prime Minister. Aziz, the longtime international face of Saddam's regime, has already been sentenced to death for the suppression of Shiite religious parties in the 1980s, although there have been international calls for him to be spared. "The courts issued a 10-year prison sentence against Tareq Aziz and Ahmed Hussein Khodayr," a spokesman for the supreme criminal court said. Khodayr was an aide to the now executed dictator. In poor health and among Saddam's few surviving top cohorts, Aziz, 74, has been in prison since surrendering in April 2003, shortly after the capture of Baghdad in the US-led invasion of Iraq. Aziz, who was born to a Christian family, was foreign minister and deputy prime minister under Saddam, who was hanged in December 2006. The death sentence, which was handed down on October 26, provoked a wave of appeals for clemency from around the world, including from human rights groups, the European Union, Russia and the Vatican. Saadun Shaker, a former interior minister, Aziz Saleh al-Nohman and Mizban Khoder Hadi, both members of regional Baath party commands, were meanwhile all sentenced to death in connection with the displacement and killing of Faili Kurds during the Iran-Iraq war which stretched from 1980 to 1988.

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Iraq

Cannot sign Aziz execution, sez Talabani

2010-11-18

President Jalal Talabani said today he would never sign former deputy premier Tareq Azizs execution order, stressing it was time to turn the page on Iraqs history of capital punishment. "No, I will not sign this kind of order because I am a socialist," Talabani told France 24 television in an interview. "I feel for Tareq Aziz, because hes an Iraqi Christian, and hes also an elderly person, over 70 years old. Thats why I will never sign this execution order." Mr Aziz was handed the death penalty on October 26 for the suppression of Shiite religious parties in the 1980s, and is also on trial for a crackdown on Iraqi Kurds, of which Talabani is one. Iraqs supreme criminal court found the long-time international face of former president Saddam Husseins regime guilty of "deliberate murder and crimes against humanity," sentencing him to death. The verdict provoked a wave of appeals for clemency from around the world, including from rights groups, the European Union, Russia and the Vatican. But, strangely, none from his victims or their families ... Aged 74, in poor health and among Saddams few surviving top cohorts, Aziz has been in prison since surrendering in April 2003, shortly after the fall of Baghdad in the US-led invasion of Iraq. The court also sentenced Aziz to 15 years imprisonment for "committing torture" and 10 years for "participating in torture," and ordered that all of his known wealth be confiscated. Two other men received the death sentence at the same time as Aziz -- former interior minister Saadoun Shaker and Abid Hmoud, an aide to Saddam. All three were sentenced for their role in the crackdown on Shiites, but the urbane Aziz was by far the most prominent figure. Named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991, Aziz exploited his mastery of English to put a gloss on Saddams murderous regime for two decades. Ratifying the death sentence is one of the prerogatives of Iraqs head of state, as stipulated in article 73 of the constitution. Talabani refusals to sign the death warrant should therefore allow Aziz to escape execution.

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Iraq

Tareq Aziz on hunger strike

2010-10-30

AMMAN — Ailing former Iraqi deputy premier Tareq Aziz, sentenced to death for murder and crimes against humanity, has gone on hunger strike, his son said on Friday. Go for it Tareq. May you succeed ... “My father and 25 other prisoners have been on a hunger strike since yesterday (Thursday),” Ziad Aziz said in the Jordanian capital Amman where he lives. “They are protesting because they could not receive the only monthly visit from friends and relatives set for the last Friday of each month,” he said. On Tuesday, Iraq’s supreme criminal court found the long-time international face of the Saddam Hussein regime guilty of “deliberate murder and crimes against humanity,” sentencing him to death. Ziad Aziz said his father and the other prisoners were still at the site of the court in Baghdad’s heavily-fortified Green Zone and had not been transferred back to prison where they could have received their monthly visit. “The authorities are using the excuse that the security resources necessary for accompanying their convoy are otherwise occupied because of the death in prison of Ibrahim Abdul Sattar,” Saddam’s former armed forces chief of staff. “My father has not been able to receive a visit from our friends, who were going to take him medicines, magazines and books that we sent him from Amman,” the younger Aziz said. “He will now have to wait until the end of November to get his medicine, which is unacceptable.” Aged 74 and in poor health, Aziz has been in prison since surrendering in April 2003, a month after the US-led invasion of Iraq.

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Iraq

Russia calls for 'clemency' for Tareq Aziz

2010-10-28

[Bangla Daily Star] Russia's foreign ministry yesterday called for "clemency" for former Iraqi deputy premier Tareq Aziz after he was sentenced to death by hanging for murder and crimes against humanity. "It is obvious that considerations of elementary humanity demand that he is shown clemency," the ministry said in a statement, calling on the Iraqi authorities to take account of Aziz's age and ailing health. "We would like to be able to count on Iraq's presidential council not allowing this sentence to be enforced," the ministry said, acknowledging however that the sentence was Iraq's "internal affair." Nice to see that Russia stands by their clients ... Iraq's supreme criminal court imposed the death sentence on Aziz, the long-time international face of the Saddam Hussein regime, on Tuesday after finding him guilty of "deliberate murder and crimes against humanity." Aziz turned himself in to US forces in April 2003, days after the fall of Storied Baghdad and was sentenced to death along with two other pillars of the former Iraqi regime, former interior minister Saadoun Shaker and Abid Hmoud, a one-time aide to Saddam. Russian politicians earlier in the day denounced the death sentence imposed on Aziz after he was convicted on charges of murder and crimes against humanity. "What has happened in Iraq is the elimination of a witness and a settling of accounts between different religions, not a victory for justice," Mikhail Margelov, the head of the foreign affairs committee in Russia's upper house, the Federation Council, was quoted as saying by Interfax.

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Iraq

Iraqi govt mulling release of Aziz: lawyer

2010-09-07

[Al Arabiya] The Iraqi government is considering the release of former Iraqi deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz on compassionate grounds due to his ailing health, his Amman-based lawyer Badeea Aref said Monday. Prostate cancer? "A head of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's office called me a short while ago and informed me that the government is mulling the release of Tariq Aziz because of his deteriorating health conditions," Aref said. "They want him to die in prison. If they were really concerned about his health, they would have provided him with proper health care and sent him to hospital," he told AFP. It's hard to get all worked up about the health of a mass murderer ... Aref said the Baghdad government "realizes that Aziz has become too old to be involved in politics, and it does not want him to die in prison ... They sympathize with him and understand his situation." But in Baghdad, a senior aide to Maliki denied any such plans. "We are not considering releasing Tareq Aziz, and this is not one of Maliki's powers. This is totally untrue," he said, declining to be named. The comments from Aziz's lawyer came after his son had said the government wanted his father to die in prison and has shown no compassion for his declining health. The warders of 74-year-old Aziz at Kadhmiyah jail in northern Baghdad want the ex-top official who cut an urbane and articulate figure in Saddam Hussein's regime "to die in prison," said his embittered son, Ziad Aziz. Ziad insisted that "there are no indications the government plans to release my father." Good. Earlier this month, Ziad aid his father could no longer walk after a serious deterioration in his health, adding that he also had gum infection and could not use his teeth. Aziz already suffers from diabetes, heart problems and high blood pressure. His family has repeatedly appealed for his release, particularly after a heart attack in late 2007. The US Federal prison system has guys like this in custody. It manages their health problems just fine, more or less. One of Saddam's few surviving top cohorts, Aziz, a Christian and aficionado of Cuban cigars before the change of regime, turned himself in to U.S. forces in April 2003, days the fall of Baghdad. In 2009, he was jailed for 15 years for the 1992 execution of 42 Baghdad wholesalers and separately given a seven-year term for his role in expelling Kurds from Iraq's north. He pleaded not guilty on all counts. Named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991, Aziz was believed to have wielded little real power of decision-making. But the fluent English speaker became one of the regime's best-known figures abroad as his master's voice. Saddam was said to have listened to the widely travelled, avuncular figure who often outwitted Western peers in debate. Born in the northern town of Sinjar on February 1, 1936, Aziz was from a Chaldean Catholic family. He changed his given name, Michael Yuhanna, to allay any Arab nationalist hostility to his Christian background. Aziz had known Saddam -- who was toppled in the invasion and then executed under the Shiite-dominated new regime -- since the 1950s but was kept outside the closed Sunni circle of the president's clansmen from the town of Tikrit.

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Iraq

Iraq tries Aziz for wasting public funds

2010-07-19

[Al Arabiya Latest] The lawyer of Iraq's jailed former deputy prime minister Tareq Aziz said on Sunday his client has gone on trial on new charges related to "wasting public funds." "I have been contacted by the Iraqi justice ministry, which informed me that Aziz and around 15 other people were taken to court yesterday (Saturday) to face trial on new charges related to wasting public funds," Amman-based Badie Aref told AFP. "I don't know what they are talking about. They told me I can't go now to Iraq to visit Aziz and they will get in touch with me later." Aref said on Saturday he had secured Baghdad's permission to visit his client in prison and was scheduled to leave for Iraq on Monday. He added he had requested permission for the visit from the office of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, as well as guarantees of safe passage. Aziz was among 26 convicts, several of them prominent members of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime, who were moved to the Iraqi-run Kadhimiyah jail in north Baghdad ahead of Washington's handover on Thursday of its Camp Cropper detention facility at the airport. "The Americans handed Aziz over to his enemies, and they will come up with all sorts of accusations and charge him with anything, which might lead to his execution," Aref said. "The international community should understand what's happening to Aziz." Aziz, 73, turned himself in to U.S. forces in April 2003 and is one of Saddam's few surviving top cohorts. He was appointed deputy premier in 1991, having previously served as foreign minister. In 2009, he was jailed for 15 years for murder and given a seven-year term in August 2009 for his role in expelling Kurds from Iraq's north. Aziz's family has repeatedly called for his release on health grounds.

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Iraq

Iraq ex-deputy PM Aziz in hospital after stroke

2010-01-18

[Al Arabiya Latest] Former Iraq deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz has suffered a stroke and been moved from jail to a U.S. military hospital, his lawyer told AFP on Sunday. "He suffered a stroke on Friday and was transferred to a hospital in the U.S. base at Balad," 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Baghdad, said lawyer Badie Aref. "His condition is serious and they will decide today whether he stays in hospital or should be returned to Camp Cropper," the U.S.-run prison in Baghdad where he is detained. He can be hanged even if he's gibbering. I bet he can hanged even if he's comatose. In fact, I'm pretty sure it'll still work the same as if he's fully conscious. A judge on the Iraqi High Tribunal confirmed that Aziz was transferred to a U.S. hospital but said he did not know the nature of his medical condition. Aziz's son, Ziad Tareq Aziz, said his father apparently suffered a stroke last Friday. He said he was getting his information from another prisoner at the U.S. detention facility where his father was being held. "It was a brain clot," Ziad Tareq Aziz said. "Today we were told that he has been moved to an American military hospital and that he suffered a second brain stroke that made him lose his ability to talk." Aref, however, did not specify if the latest stroke was cardiac or neurological. Aziz was named foreign minister in 1983 and then deputy prime minister in 1991. The 73-year-old turned himself in to U.S. forces in April 2003 after Saddam Hussein was overthrown. Aziz has been convicted for crimes against humanity. Let's remember that last part ...

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Iraq

Jordan grants citizenship to Tareq Aziz's family

2009-11-04

[Al Arabiya Latest] Jordan has granted citizenship to the wife and sons of Iraq's jailed former deputy premier Tareq Aziz who have lived in the kingdom since the 22D3 US-led invasion, an official said on Tuesday. "The council of ministers granted Jordanian citizenship on Monday to Saddam Tareq Aziz and his mother Violet Yusef Nobud," the official told AFP. "The elder son, Ziad Tareq Aziz, and his wife, Seba Mzaffar Antwan, have been granted citizenship recently, upon their request."

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