Human Rights Watch asked the government of Jordan to hold Iraq's number two leader, Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, for trial or for extradition on charges that he is among those responsible for crimes of genocide, torture, and mass murder
Ibrahim left Vienna earlier today on a flight to Amman, Jordan, after Austrian authorities failed to act on a criminal complaint filed against Ibrahim by a member of Vienna's city council.
In letters to Jordanian Prime Minister Abdur-Ra'uf Rawabdeh and King Abdallah, the international monitoring organization asked them to hold Ibrahim for trial in Jordan or to extradite him to a country able and willing to try him. The letters, cite Ibrahim's known role in the 1988 Anfal genocide campaign against Iraq's Kurdish population, including membership on a committee that authorized chemical weapons attacks against Kurdish towns and villages.
"Ibrahim is deeply implicated in some of Iraq's worst crimes," said Hanny Megally, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East division. "We strongly urge Jordan's leaders to send a strong message that it will not countenance impunity for such atrocities."
Jordan, as a State Party to the U.N. conventions on genocide and torture, is obliged to take steps to bring Ibrahim to justice.
For Further Information:
Reed Brody (New York) 1 212 216 1206
Joe Stork (Washington) 1 202 612 4327
Joost Hiltermann (Washington) 1 202 612 4359
Wilder Tayler (London) 44 171 713 1995
