Iraq’s three-member Presidency Council has approved the execution of Ali Hassan Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein known as “Chemical Ali,” said a high-ranking Iraqi government official today who was not authorized to speak on the subject.

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Iraq’s three-member Presidency Council has approved the execution of Ali Hassan Majid, a cousin of Saddam Hussein known as “Chemical Ali,” said a high-ranking Iraqi government official today who was not authorized to speak on the subject.

The official said there was no date set for the hanging, which must be carried out within 30 days. He also said the Presidency Council had agreed only to the execution of Majid, not two codefendants also convicted in June of genocide and other crimes.

Majid’s death penalty, and that of the others, had been held up because the council was divided over how it might affect national reconciliation. The council is composed of a Shiite, a Sunni and a Kurd.

Supporters of Majid and his codefendants had argued they were merely carrying out Hussein’s orders when they took part in the gassing of tens of thousands of Kurds in the 1980s.

The U.S. has held Majid but refused to hand him over until the council reached a decision on whether he would be hanged or put in prison.

It was not immediately clear if he had been handed over yet to Iraqi authorities.

The decision to hang him could be seen as another setback in reconciliation efforts in Iraq, where Kurdish distrust toward the Shiite-led government is high.

Earlier this week, the Presidency Council also failed to approve a law seen as crucial to reconciliation, which would have established powers of provinces and laid the groundwork for provincial elections. And Iraq’s divided parliament has yet to approve other major legislation that U.S. and Iraqi officials say would accelerate reconciliation among the country’s ethnic and sectarian groups.


Philadelphia Mayor Appoints Pepper Hamilton Partner Chairman Of Assessment Team Evaluating Philadelphia Safe And Sound

Philadelphia, Pa. – LAWFUEL – Legal Newswire – February 28, 2008 – Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter has appointed Michael A. Schwartz, a partner with Pepper Hamilton LLP, chairman of a newly formed assessment team that is evaluating the status of Philadelphia Safe and Sound, a city-funded nonprofit organization responsible for contracting out protective services for children that has come under public scrutiny in recent weeks, including being the subject of hearings conducted by Philadelphia City Council.

The assessment team will be reviewing, among other things, Safe and Sound’s operations and finances and a program evaluation currently being conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, and then will be making recommendations to the Mayor.

The six-member assessment team will be supported by staff from the Philadelphia Department of Human Services, the Philadelphia Department of Finance, the City Law Department, the Philadelphia Inspector General’s Office and Philadelphia City Council.

Mr. Schwartz focuses his law practice in the areas of internal corporate investigations, corporate compliance programs, criminal defense and counseling, and First Amendment matters.

Before joining Pepper Hamilton earlier this week, on February 25, Mr. Schwartz headed the Corruption, Civil Rights, Labor and Tax Fraud unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He successfully prosecuted some of the region’s highest-profile corruption cases, including the electronic surveillance investigation during former Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street’s administration and the corruption prosecutions of former City Treasurer Corey Kemp and former City Councilman Richard Mariano.

About Pepper Hamilton

Pepper Hamilton LLP (www.pepperlaw.com) is a multi-practice law firm with more than 500 lawyers in seven states and the District of Columbia. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world. The firm was founded in 1890.

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