Saddam Hussein’s notorious hatchet man “Chemical Ali” demanded on Monday that the trial accusing him and 14 other former regime officials for crimes against humanity be adjourned for a month. Ali Hassan al-Majid - due to be hanged shortly after his conviction for genocide in a separate trial — and his co-defendants are accused of having overseen a bloodbath in which up to 100,000 Shiites were killed by Saddam’s security forces.The Shiite uprising trial resumed on Monday after a month long break and Majid, widely known as “Chemical Ali”, urged that the proceedings be adjourned by another month. Majid and another defendant Ibrahim Abdul Razzaz said their lawyers were afraid to attend the court and had asked for protection from the US military which was refused. “My brothers here have some demands,” Majid told judge Mohammed al-Khalifah al-Oreibi. “They said they would stop eating and drinking if their lawyers are not back. They need more negotiations (with the US military). I don’t think this will take more than one month. I ask that we adjourn the trial for one month so that we can come up with a solution.”
Judge Oreibi noted his comments but then went on to call the first witness of the day.