Hague court orders Dutch firm to compensate for Saddam’s chemical attacks
The court in The Hague ordered the Dutch company Forafina Beleggingen (formerly KBS Holland) to compensate five Iranian victims who sustained injuries or health damage during Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s poison gas attacks in the 1980s.
The amount of compensation has yet to be determined. KBS Holland did not appear during the trial in June, NL Times reported. The Dutch company Melchemie (Now Otjiaha), owned by billionaire Hans Melchers, who died early this month, is not liable for personal injury, the court ruled.
The Iranians were soldiers or volunteers in the Iranian army when they suffered horrific injuries as a result of Iraqi attacks with mustard gas, their lawyer Lisebeth Zegveld said. They were fighting in the border area between Iran and Iraq at the time and were between 16 and 22 years old.
According to the victims, the Dutch companies are liable because they supplied Iraq with raw materials for making mustard gas.
The victims still suffer from severe health damage and problems with their lungs, eyes, and skin. “The impact of mustard gas never stops and only gets worse,” Zegveld said during the trial.