The resumption on Monday of the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was marred by disagreement which resulted in Saddam's defense team walking out of the courtroom, only to return after the matter had been resolved by the Chief Judge, Rizgar Mohammed Amin.
The attorneys reportedly threatened to leave the court after Amin refused to hear their complaints regarding the legitimacy of the tribunal, saying that the complaints would be heard at a later time. One of the lawyers on the team was former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark.
However, the court later reversed its decision, saying that because the court wished to pursue its work "in transparency, it has agreed to listen to the oral arguments of the two defense attorneys''.
Following the incident, Saddam's codefendant Barzan Al Tikriti yelled "Long live Saddam," while the former leader cried, " Long live the Arab state," saying that the court was appointed by Americans, reported Reuters.
In response to Amin's call that defense replacements would be chosen by the court if the current team walked out, Saddam said that he rejected "court-appointed lawyers."
During Monday's session, the first witness to appear in person at the trial has given a harrowing testimony against the former Iraqi leader. Ahmed Mohammed Hassem al-Dujaili described the massacre of 148 people from the Shiite village of Dujail in 1982, for which Saddam and seven ex-henchmen are on trial.
Dujaili told the court: "A friend of mine... was tortured. He was actually killed in front of me and I saw that. People who were arrested were taken to prison and most of them were killed there. I saw corpses and bodies of our neighbours. They were martyred. Some of them, we couldn't even recognize their bodies," he added.
As Dujaili, a prominent member of the Shiite Dawa party, gave his evidence, Saddam made interruptions from the dock, before being told to be quiet. Saddam also said during a heated exchange with the judge that "I am not afraid of execution". "When I speak, I speak like your brother," he said. "Your brother in Iraq and your brother in the nation. I am not afraid of execution. I realize there is pressure on you and I regret that I have to confront one of my sons. But I'm not doing it for myself. I'm doing it for Iraq. I'm not defending myself. But I am defending you."
He added that: "I want you to be the shooters and the swords against the enemy army." The ex-Iraqi president also told the court that he "would like (the witness) to be examined by an independent medical institution."
Saddam and seven other codefendants were brought into the courtroom without handcuffs, according to the AP, in the heavy guarded courthouse in the Green Zone in central Baghdad.
Monday's trial resumed after a one-week recess so that replacements could be found for two attorneys that had been killed and one that had fled Iraq, reportedly in fear of his safety.
© 2005 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
