Ajaj Must Be Tried Under Genocide Law, Says Kurdish Writer

PUKMEDIA

Hussain Talabani.

Following the arrest of Ajaj Ahmed Hardan, known as the executioner of Nugrat al-Salman, Kurdish writer and interpreter Hussain Talabani has urged Iraqi authorities to prosecute him under international genocide law.

Talabani recalled that the term "genocide" was coined after World War II to describe the systematic extermination of entire groups based on nationality, ethnicity, race, or religion. The definition, now embedded in the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, includes acts such as mass killing, causing serious physical or mental harm, and deliberately imposing conditions aimed at the group’s destruction.

He noted that Iraq ratified the Genocide Convention in 1951, which obligates the state to prevent and punish all forms of genocide, including complicity. Talabani emphasised that there can be no legal justification for excusing Ajaj’s actions, including the claim that he was simply following orders.
According to international law, responsibility for genocide applies equally to heads of state, public officials, and private individuals. As a police officer serving under Saddam Hussein’s regime, Ajaj qualifies as a public official who must be held accountable under the law.

Talabani also stressed that general or special amnesties cannot shield individuals from prosecution for genocide, war crimes, or crimes against humanity. Such crimes are considered outside the scope of amnesty or statutes of limitation under both the Geneva Conventions and the International Criminal Court.

Click here to read the full commentary by Hussain Talabani



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