伊拉克絞刑處死薩達姆表弟"化學阿里"
Iraq on Monday executed Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the Saddam Hussein cousin and henchman widely known as "Chemical Ali", for crimes against humanity.
"The death sentence against Ali Hassan al-Majeed has been carried out today," government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.
Majeed, who earned his nickname because of his use of poison gas, was executed by hanging, a government statement said.
He had received four death sentences, the last around a week ago for an attack on the Iraqi Kurdish town of Halabja in which thousands were killed.
Dabbagh said in the statement that Majeed was not subjected to any abuse during the execution, unlike the insults heaped on Saddam himself by Shi'ite Muslim observers when he was hanged in December 2006.
"Everyone abided by the government's instructions and the convicted was not subjected to any breach, chanting, abuse words, or insults," he said.
It was not clear if Majeed was hanged before or after a series of coordinated suicide bombings close to well-known hotels in Baghdad in which more than 30 people died.
The attacks were the fourth coordinated assault by suspected Sunni Islamist insurgents on targets in the capital since last August, aimed at undermining the Shi'ite Muslim-led government in the run-up to a March 7 parliamentary election.
Majeed had a reputation for ruthlessness in crushing Saddam's opponents that won him widespread notoriety. Many Iraqis feared him more than the leader himself.
He was captured in August 2003, five months after US forces invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam.
He was sentenced to hang in June 2007 for his role in a military campaign against ethnic Kurds, codenamed Anfal, that lasted from February to August 1988.
Majeed also received a death sentence in December 2008 for his role in crushing one Shi'ite revolt after the 1991 Gulf War and another in March 2009 for his involvement in killing and displacing Shi'ite Muslims in 1999.
His final death sentence came on January 17 for Halabja, when the Iraqi army used poison gas against Kurds. Around 5,000 people were believed to have been killed.
本週一，伊拉克以危害人類罪處死伊前總統薩達姆•侯賽因的表弟、綽號爲“化學阿里”的前政權高官阿里•哈桑•馬吉德。
伊拉克政府發言人阿里•達巴格當天稱：“阿里•哈桑•馬吉德已於今天被處死。”
伊拉克政府發表聲明稱，馬吉德被處以絞刑。馬吉德因使用毒氣（鎮壓反對派）而獲“化學阿里”綽號。
這是馬吉德第四次被判處死刑。大約一週前，他因下令向伊拉克的庫爾德村鎮哈拉布傑釋放毒氣，致使數千人喪生而第四次被判處死刑。
達巴格在聲明中稱，與薩達姆不同的是，馬吉德在受刑過程中未受到任何虐待。薩達姆2006年12月被執行絞刑時受到什葉派穆斯林觀察員們的極大凌辱。
他說：“所有人都遵守了政府的指示，受刑者未受到任何侵犯、唸咒、辱罵或凌辱。”
週一當天，伊拉克首都巴格達幾家著名酒店附近發生自殺式連環爆炸事件，造成30多人死亡。目前還不清楚爆炸事件發生在行刑之前還是之後。
此次爆炸事件是自去年8月以來，遜尼派伊斯蘭叛軍針對巴格達發動的第四次連環襲擊事件，目的是在今年3月7日議會選舉之前推翻什葉派穆斯林領導的政府。
在薩達姆執政期間，馬吉德因殘忍鎮壓反對派而著稱。很多伊拉克人對他的懼怕程度超過薩達姆。
馬吉德於2003年8月被捕，當時美軍入侵伊拉克已有5個月之久，薩達姆政權已被推翻。
2007年6月，馬吉德因參與代號爲“安法爾”（意爲戰利品）的針對庫爾德種族的軍事行動被判處絞刑。該行動從1988年2月持續至8月。
2008年12月，馬吉德再次被判處死刑，罪名是他在1991年海灣戰爭結束後殘酷鎮壓什葉派起義。2009年3月，他第三次被判處死刑，原因是1999年他參與屠殺和驅逐什葉派穆斯林。
今年1月17日，他最後一次被判處死刑，罪名是在哈拉布亞使用毒氣鎮壓庫爾德人，致使約五千人喪生。
Vocabulary:
henchman：an unscrupulous and ruthless subordinate, esp. a criminal（忠實的追隨者，黨羽）
run-up：a period of time leading up to an important event; the preparation for this（前期，準備階段）
notoriety：the state, quality, or character of being notorious or widely known（聲名狼籍）
codenamed：代號爲，有代號的
