Iraqi convicted in kidnap-killing

An Iraqi court Tuesday convicted a Sunni architect in the 2004 kidnapping-slaying of British aid worker Margaret Hassan and sentenced him to life in prison.

Hassan was married to an Iraqi and had lived in the country for 30 years. She was seized in October 2004 on her way to work in Baghdad, where she served as director of CARE International in Iraq.

Shortly after her abduction, a terrified Hassan, 59, was shown on a video trembling and pleading for her life as she urged then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair to withdraw British troops from Iraq. She was killed a month later and her body has not been found.

A three-judge panel handed down the sentence against Ali Lutfi Rawi, 36, after a one-day trial in Baghdad, convicting him of kidnapping, murder and extortion. The defendant, who had pleaded not guilty, showed no reaction as he was led away by guards after the sentencing.

Hassan’s family appealed for him to reveal where her body is buried so her remains can be returned to Britain.

“We are content that this man has been found guilty,” Hassan’s family said in a statement issued in Britain. “However, he has still not revealed the whereabouts of Margaret’s remains, which would enable us to bury her with the respect she deserves.”

Rawi was apprehended last year after he allegedly phoned the British Embassy to demand $1 million in exchange for information about the location of Hassan’s remains.