Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as ‘Chemical Ali’, will be the first leader of Saddam Hussein’s former regime to be tried for war crimes.
According to Iraqi Defence Minister Hazim al-Shaalan, the trial could begin as early as next week and would certainly be underway by the middle of January.
Mr Majid, who is accused of war crimes, including the gassing of up to 5,000 Kurds in northern Iraq in the late 1980s, is the only one of Mr Hussein's deputies set for trial to date.
Plans for an early trial of Mr Hussein's aides were announced by interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi yesterday in a move that reportedly took Iraq's Justice Ministry and US officials by surprise.
