Former Saddam Hussein's top official Tariq Aziz sentenced to life imprisonment

[News_Editor]

Former Saddam Hussein's top official Tariq Aziz sentenced to life imprisonment

2011-03-16 22:50:12 GMT+7 (ICT)

BAGHDAD, IRAQ (BNO NEWS) -- Tariq Aziz, a former top diplomat for Saddam Hussein, on Wednesday was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of Shia officials in the 1980s, his sixth sentence against him, the Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.

Iraq's Supreme Criminal Court determined Aziz, a former Deputy Prime Minister, and Saadoun Shaker, former Interior Minister, where involved in the murder of Shia men during the former ruling Baath Regime.

Aziz and Shaker were found guilty of murdering the sons of Ayatollah Mohsen al-Hakim, a key figure behind the 1960 Shia political movement in Iraq. Last year, Aziz was sentenced to death by hanging for other crimes.

In September 2010, the former deputy PM was found guilty of deliberate murder and crimes against humanity but Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said he would not sign the execution order.

In 2009, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 1992 execution of 42 Baghdad wholesalers. Aziz also received a 7-year-term in jail for expelling Kurds from northern Iraq.

In October, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison over torture charges and a 10-year jail term for crimes against humanity. One month later, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in killing Kurdish people in the 1980s.

Aziz was the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003 and one of the best-known faces of Hussein's regime. He also served as Foreign Minister in that period.

The former top official was captured by U.S. forces in April 2003, shortly after the U.S. invasion that overthrown Saddam Hussein's government and held at former U.S. detention facility in Iraq, Camp Cropper.

He was later transferred to the custody of the Iraqi government and imprisoned at the Kadhimiya prison in Baghdad. Aziz' relatives have voiced their concern regarding his deteriorated health and called for clemency.

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