VOA常速英语2008年-Iraq Approves Execution of 'Chemical Ali'

By Daniel Schearf
Irbil
29 February 2008

Iraqi officials say the government has approved the death sentence for "Chemical Ali," a cousin of Saddam Hussein, who is widely known for his role in poison gas attacks on the Kurds.   As Daniel Schearf reports from Irbil, the sentence is expected to be carried within a month.

Iraqi officials said Friday the presidency¹ council approved the execution of Ali Hassan al-Majid two days ago.  Under Iraqi law that means the former Saddam Hussein henchman will be hanged within 30 days.

Majid ordered chemical attacks against Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s as part of a campaign to quash Kurdish resistance forces.  The government of Iraqi Kurdistan says 180,000 Kurds were killed during the Anfal Campaign, including many civilians².  Thousands more were deported³.

Falah Mustafa Bakir is director of the Prime Minister's office for Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government.  He says Iraqi Kurds want those responsible to face justice.

"For us it was important for these crimes to be documented for the whole world and people to understand that a lot of injustices⁴ were committed against our people and we wanted the crimes to be documented and the courts to be open to the public for people to realize that what we were saying was the truth," he said.

In June, Majid and two other Hussein-era officials were convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity for attacks on Iraqi civilians and sentenced to death by hanging.

An appeals court upheld the verdict in September, but the execution was delayed as politicians debated who had the right to give final approval on sentencing.

The two other officials are senior Hussein-era military chief Hussein Rashid Mohammed and former Defense⁵ Minister Sultan Hashim al-Tai.  Their execution orders have not yet received final approval.

The U.S. military is holding all three officials and says Iraqi authorities have yet to make a request for them to be handed over.

1 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 deported   

v.将…驱逐出境( deport的过去式和过去分词 )；举止

参考例句：

• They stripped me of my citizenship and deported me. 他们剥夺我的公民资格，将我驱逐出境。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The convicts were deported to a deserted island. 罪犯们被流放到一个荒岛。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 injustices   

不公平( injustice的名词复数 )； 非正义； 待…不公正； 冤枉

参考例句：

• One who committed many injustices is doomed to failure. 多行不义必自毙。
• He felt confident that his injustices would be righted. 他相信他的冤屈会受到昭雪的。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。