The Dutchman accused of selling the chemicals from America and Japan to the Iraqis for their WMD program is going ot court today:
Frans van Anraat, 62, is accused of complicity in genocide, the first time a Dutchman has faced that charge.
The case includes evidence obtained from the former head of Iraq’s chemical weapons program, Ali Hassan al-Majid, otherwise known as Chemical Ali.
He has been charged in Iraq of masterminding the mustard gas attack on Halabja.
Saddam Hussein has also been charged over the attack. Frans van Anraat listened to the charges on Friday in the Rotterdam courtroom in the presence of four survivors of the Halabja attack.
He is charged with supplying thousands of tons of raw materials for chemical weapons used in the 1980-1988 war against Iran and against Iraqi Kurds.
Prosecutors say the United Nations has described Mr van Anraat as “one of the most important middlemen in Iraq’s acquisition of chemical material”.
Here’s the kicker…
The prosecutors say the suspect was aware of the final purpose for the base materials he supplied.
