Saddam spars with judge in court appearance

Harsh retribution
A videotape obtained from Iraqi intelligence was shown in court, depicting Saddam in Dujail right after the incident in a military uniform, questioning three men held by guards.

The court also played the videotaped testimony of former intelligence officer Wadah Ismael al-Sheik, who investigated the assassination attempt and died of cancer Oct. 27.

Amin read the transcript as the tape played without sound. According to the transcript, al-Sheik, who appeared frail and sat in a wheelchair in a U.S.-controlled hospital last month, said about 400 people were detained after the assassination attempt, although he estimated only between seven and 12 gunmen actively participated in the ambush of Saddam’s convoy.

“I don’t know why so many people were arrested,” al-Sheik said, adding that Ibrahim, head of intelligence at the time, “was the one directly giving the orders.”

A day after the assassination attempt, whole families were rounded up and taken to Abu Ghraib prison, he said.

Also, co-defendant Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice president, headed a committee that ordered orchards that were the basis of Dujail’s livelihood to be destroyed, he said. The orchards had been used to conceal the assailants, he said.

Eight arrested for plot to kill judge
Tight security surrounded the trial. The precise starting time was not announced due to fear of attack by both Saddam’s supporters and opponents.

The front row of seats in the press gallery bore a warning in English and Arabic: “If you sit here, you could be on television.”

Authorities said police on Saturday arrested eight Sunni Arabs allegedly plotting to kill the judge who prepared Saddam’s indictment. The eight were apprehended in the northern city of Kirkuk, police Col. Anwar Qadir said.

The eight were carrying orders from a former top Saddam deputy, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, to kill investigating judge Raed Juhi, he said. Al-Douri is the highest-ranking member of the Saddam regime still at large and is believed to be at least the symbolic leader of Saddam loyalists fighting U.S. forces and Iraq’s new government.

The predominantly Sunni insurgency has complicated efforts to put Saddam on trial and forced tight security. For example, names of four of the five trial judges have been kept secret and some of the 35 witnesses may testify behind curtains to protect them.

The trial has unleashed passions in an Iraqi society deeply divided in its judgment of Saddam and his rule.

Many Sunni Arab insurgent groups include Saddam loyalists, members of the former ruling Baath Party and veterans of both Saddam’s personal militia and the Republican Guard.

The ousted leader, meanwhile, is vilified by Iraq’s Shiite Muslim majority and its Kurdish community, which were oppressed during his rule.

On Saturday, hundreds of supporters of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr rallied in Baghdad demanding Saddam’s execution.

Separately, the leader of the biggest Shiite party, Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, accused the court of “weakness” for not having sentenced Saddam to death already. He also complained that media attention over allegations of torture by the Shiite-led security services had belittled Saddam’s alleged crimes.

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