Sweden has announced that it is seeking assistance from the Kurdistan Regional Government in investigating five Iraqi asylum seekers, who are suspected of being involved in the genocide of Kurds, under Saddam Hussein.
The five suspects reportedly include at least three senior officials from Saddam Hussein’s Ba’ath party, which oversaw the killing of Kurds, including the infamous 1988 poison gas attack on the town of Halabja, which left some 5,000 civilians dead.
Amongst those held is believed to be, a nuclear scientist involved with chemical weapons, a deputy of Ali Hassan Majeed (nicknamed “Chemical Ali”) – the man behind the Halabja attack and a deputy director of security who has already confessed to involvement in arrests and torture.
RUDAW reported a Swedish police officer as saying,
“It is hard for Sweden to let killers walk freely on our streets”.
Also commenting on the case was Eva Fred, a genocide expert and director of international relations at the Swedish Office for Contemporary History, who stated,
“Our success in the case of Rwanda has had a positive impact on this case. It is very important for Kurds that the KRG plays an active role in this dossier.”
Her comments refer to Sweden’s first ever genocide trial in 2012, where a Rwandan man was sentenced for crimes committed during the 1994 genocide.
See our earlier posts:
Sweden 'no safe haven' - chief war crimes investigator (23 December 2011)
Rwandan faces genocide trial in Sweden (05 November 2012)
Sweden’s first genocide trial opens (16 November 2012)
Genocide trial 'demonstrates Sweden's international responsibility' (10 December 2012)
Swedish court sentences citizen for part in Rwanda genocide (20 June 2013)