BAGHDAD, Iraq -
Saddam Hussein's trial was delayed Wednesday after
the ousted president refused to attend the session,
court officials said. Defense lawyers huddled with
the judges in hopes of resolving the latest test of
wills in the often-unruly trial.
An angry Saddam threatened at the end of the Tuesday
court session to boycott the next day's proceedings
after complaining that he and the seven other
co-defendants had been mistreated by the "unjust
court."
Court officials on Wednesday said Saddam was
sticking by his vow, and the judges were trying to
decide whether to proceed without him.
If the differences cannot be resolved, an official
said the court might hold a closed session to search
for solutions. |
Former dictator Saddam Hussein
Photo : AFP
|
|
Saddam's threat not to attend the Wednesday session
came at the end of a daylong session in which five
witnesses - two women and three men - related the
events of a 1982 crackdown on Shiite Muslims. The
most dramatic testimony came from a woman who spoke
behind a beige curtain and with her voice disguised.
She told of beatings, torture and sexual humiliation
at the hands of security agents when she was a
teenager.
At the end of the Tuesday session, the judges agreed
over defense objections to meet again the following
day. Saddam shouted that "I will not come to an
unjust court! Go to hell!"
Saddam, dressed again in a dark suit and white shirt
and clutching a Quran, complained that he and the
seven other defendants were tired and had been
deprived of opportunities to shower, have a change
of clothes, exercise or go for a smoke.
"This is terrorism," he declared.
Throughout the trial, which began Oct. 19, Saddam
has repeatedly staged confrontations with the court
and attempted to take control of the proceedings
with dramatic rhetorical flourishes.
Saddam and the others are charged in the deaths of
more than 140 Shiite Muslims in retaliation for an
assassination attempt against him in the town of
Dujail in 1982. Saddam accused Iran of ordering the
attempt on his life.
Five witnesses - two women and three men - testified
Tuesday in the fourth session of the trial, all of
them hidden from the public view and with their
voices disguised to protect their identities.
The most compelling testimony came from the woman
identified only as "Witness A," who was a
16-year-old girl at the time of the crackdown. Her
voice breaking with emotion, she told the court of
beatings and electric shocks by the former
president's agents.
AP
Top |
® 