Frans van Anraat
Posted on 04/01/2007 7:57:38 AM PDT by jdm
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: A Dutch appeals court is to begin hearing the case Monday of a businessman convicted of war crimes for selling chemicals to Saddam Hussein that the Iraqi dictator used in the mass killings of Kurds.Frans van Anraat, 64, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2005 for selling tons of precursor chemicals that were made into mustard gas and nerve gas unleashed on Kurdish villages in northern Iraq in 1987-88.
Van Anraat said he didn't know the chemicals — some of which were purchased in the United States — could be used for anything but industry.
But judges at the Hague District Court disagreed, ruling that Van Anraat attempted to conceal the transfers with a network of holding companies because he knew he was violating a U.S. export ban, and knew the chemicals would be used for killing.
They convicted him of "complicity in violating the rules of war," but acquitted him of complicity in genocide, finding that he didn't know specifically that the chemicals would be used against the Kurds.
Judges gave him the maximum sentence possible under Dutch law, saying he was driven by greed and showed no remorse.
Van Anraat is appealing his conviction, arguing he was unfairly singled out for prosecution. Prosecutors are appealing his genocide acquittal, arguing he continued seeking to sell chemicals to Iraq, even after hearing of the attack on the town of Halabja on March 16, 1988, in which around 5,000 Kurds were gassed to death using chemicals he supplied.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
Oh, does this mean that there were WMD's?
< / s >
I've been following this story for a while, amazing that our MSM always fails to report on him, I wonder why?
Easy: the MSM hates Bush and his administration. They won't report anything which would show Bush in a good, correct light.
Any chemist would know that phosphorus oxychloride is a chemical intermediate in the synthesis of organophosphate pesticides. OP's are post-synaptic uptake inhibitors (nerve toxins), originally synthesized by I.G. Farben.
BS: Any person or company selling chemicals should be expected to know ALL the uses of same.
Hang him. Send a message.
The appropriate judge/politician will soon receive his payoff in his numbered Swiss acount and the conviction will be overturned. Ask Marc Rich.
What were the barrels of chemicals found in Saddams bunkers that we were told were harmless pesticides? It would be interesting if this guy is being prosecuted for the same things that we were told was not evidence of WMD.
Decisions like this are probably one of the biggest reasons the left wing rats hate GW and don't want a prosperous and free Iraq.
How many of the elite liberals, who hate GW and the concept of a Free and Prosperous Iraq received money from $addam over the past decade or so from the various UN scams $addam had going on.
They know that their benefactor $addam was invested on a large scale in WMDs.
They know that their benefactor $addam was a serial killer on a massive level.
They know that their benefactor $addam ran torture and murder centers to control the Iraqi population.
They know that $addam set up rape centers so his family members and loyalist could come and rape innocent Iraqi women for being loyal to $addam.
Last but not least they know that if Iraq becomes a prosperous and free standing nation, Iraq will hire people to ferret out those who enabled $addam and his mass murdering thugs to commit these horrible crimes against innocent Iraqis.
A prosperous and free standing Iraq will then hire Mercs to snatch and sieze these criminal enablers around the world, and then bring them to Iraq to stand trial for their crimes against innocent Iraqis.
They know the fate of these enablers will be very grim in the hands of a prosperous and free standing Iraq. So they have done everything and anything to prevent the establishment of a prosperous and free standing Iraq, as they might end up on trial for their war crimes in Iraq in the future.
I thought it was Reagan's fault (so the left tells me)
Frans van Anraat
Thanks for the image.
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