Dutch Police Arrest Man Suspected of Aiding Iraq’s Past Chemical Weapons Program

A Dutch businessman was arrested yesterday in the Netherlands on charges of helping former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein develop chemical weapons used in the infamous 1988 attack on the Kurdish village of Halabja, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 9).

The man, identified as Frans van Anraat, is suspected of supplying to Iraq “thousands of tons of base materials for chemical weapons between 1984 and 1988,” according to Dutch authorities. 

Van Anraat was arrested in 1989 in Italy at the request of the United States, which had launched its own investigation into his activities, but he escaped to Iraq where he remained until Operation Iraqi Freedom last year, Dutch authorities said. At that point, Van Anraat fled to the Netherlands, where he was arrested yesterday, AFP reported.

Van Anraat is the first Dutch national to be investigated on charges of aiding genocide, and also faces war crimes charges, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/TurkishPress.com, Dec. 7).

Back to top
About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines © Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.