Iraq's presidency council has approved the execution of Saddam Hussein's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known as "Chemical Ali," for masterminding a genocidal campaign against Iraq's Kurds in the 1980s, state television said on Friday.
The approval removed the last legal obstacle to Majeed's execution. According to Reuters, he was due have been hanged last year but the execution was delayed after the presidency council, made up of Iraq's president and two vice-presidents, declined to approve it.
Al-Majeed, the former Iraqi defense minister, was nicknamed "Chemical Ali" after he ordered gas attacks on Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s.
