Frans van Anraat
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| Frans van Anraat | |
|---|---|
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| Born | August 9, 1942  Den Helder, Netherlands |
| Penalty | 17 years imprisonment |
| Status | In prison |
| Occupation | Chemist |
Frans Cornelis Adrianus van Anraat (born August 9, 1942 in Den Helder) is a Dutch businessman who sold raw materials for the production of chemical weapons to Iraq during the reign of Saddam Hussein.
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[edit] Business in Iraq
During the 1970s Van Anraat worked at engineering companies in Italy, Switzerland and Singapore that were building chemical plants in Iraq. Having learned about the trade in chemicals, he founded his own company, "FCA Contractor", based in Bissone, Switzerland. From 1984 he supplied thousands of tons of chemicals to Iraq. Among these chemicals were the essential raw materials for producing mustard gas and nerve gas.[1] Both gases were used during the Iran-Iraq war between 1980-1988 as well as during the Halabja poison gas attack the military carried out on Iraqi Kurds in 1988, in which some 5,000 people were killed. This attack was part of the Al-Anfal campaign of the Iraqi regime against Kurds in the north of the country.[2]
[edit] Arrest and trial
After his arrest and release in Italy in 1989, Van Anraat fled to Iraq, where he lived for the next 14 years.[3] When Saddam's regime fell in 2003, Van Anraat returned to the Netherlands. He was arrested on December 6, 2004 for complicity to war crimes and genocide. On December 23, 2005, he was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for complicity to war crimes, but the court argued the charges of complicity to genocide could not be substantiated.[4][3] Both the public prosecutor as well as van Anraat appealed the verdict. In May 2007, the appeal court sentenced van Anraat to seventeen years in prison, this time for complicity to multiple war crimes which explains the two extra years, but not for complicity to genocide.[5]
This case was also notable because it established that the chemical bombings in North Iraq constituted genocide according to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Van Anraat is the only Dutchman ever to appear on the FBI's most wanted list.[4]
[edit] Relation with Dutch secret service
Shortly after the arrest of Van Anraat, several Dutch newspapers reported that Van Anraat had been an informant of the Dutch secret service, the AIVD.[6] According to the Dutch press, Van Anraat received protection from the AIVD and was placed in a safehouse of the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations in Amsterdam.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ Dutchman in Iraq genocide charges. BBC (18 March, 2005).
- ^ Dutchman 'knew possible fatal use of chemicals'. IranMania.com (December 3, 2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ a b Saddam's 'Dutch link'. BBC (23 December 2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ a b Van Anraat, most wanted by the FBI (Dutch). NOS (23 June 2005). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ Hof veroordeelt Van Anraat tot zeventien jaar cel (Dutch). Nu.nl (9 May 2007). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ "Van Anraat was informant AIVD" (Dutch) (20-12-2004). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
- ^ VAN ANRAAT ZAT IN SAFEHOUSE AIVD (Dutch). Nova (20-12-2004). Retrieved on 2007-05-09.
