Defiant Saddam prompts judge to close court

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein testified Wednesday for the first time at his trial, calling on Iraqis to stop a bloody wave of sectarian violence and instead fight American troops, prompting the chief judge to close the courtroom, saying he was making political speeches.

Even as the judge repeatedly yelled at him to stop, Saddam read from a prepared text, insisting he was still Iraq's president.

"Let the (Iraqi) people unite and resist the invaders and their backers. Don't fight among yourselves," he said, praising the insurgency. "In my eyes, you are the resistance to the American invasion."

Finally chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman ordered the session to continue in secret, telling journalists to leave the chamber. The video and audio broadcast of the trial was cut off.

After nearly two hours, reporters were called back into the court. Saddam was sitting alone in the defendants' pen in front of the judge. The former Iraqi leader then refused to answer questions from the chief prosecutor, demanding to see a copy of his testimony given to investigators before the trial began. The prosecution agreed to the demand and said they would question Saddam in the next session.

Abdel-Rahman then adjourned the trial until April 5.

Saddam calls trial a 'comedy'
Saddam was the last of the case's eight defendants to be called to testify. Though he has spoken frequently since the trial began in October, Wednesday's session was to be the first chance for the judge and prosecutors to directly question him on charges of killing 148 Shiites and imprisoning and torturing others during a 1982 crackdown against the Shiite town of Dujail.

Instead, Saddam — dressed in a black suit — read from his statement, insisting he was Iraq's elected president and calling the trial a "comedy."

He addressed the "great Iraqi people" — a phrase he often used in his speeches as president — and urged them to stop the wave of Shiite-Sunni violence that has rocked the country since the bombing of a major Shiite shrine last month.

"What pains me most is what I heard recently about something that aims to harm our people," Saddam said. "My conscience tells me that the great people of Iraq have nothing to do with these acts," he said referring to the bombing of the shrine in the city of Samarra.

Abdel-Rahman interrupted saying he was not allowed to give political speeches in the court.

"I am the head of state," Saddam replied.

"You used to be a head of state. You are a defendant now," Abdel-Rahman said.

The judge repeatedly closed his microphone to prevent his words from being heard and told him to address the case against him. But Saddam ignored him, continuing to read from his text.

"What happened in the last days is bad," he said, referring to the recent violence. "You will live in darkness and rivers of blood for no reason."

"The bloodshed that they (the Americans) have caused to the Iraqi people only made them more intent and strong to evict the foreigners from their land and liberate their country," Saddam said.

Stormy session
At one point, Abdel-Rahman screamed at him, "Respect yourself." Saddam shouted back: "you respect yourself."

"You are being tried in a criminal case for killing innocent people, not because of your conflict with America," Abdel-Rahman told him. "What about the innocent people who are dying in Baghdad? I am talking to the Iraqi people," Saddam replied.

Finally, Abdel-Rahman ordered the session closed to the public. "The court has decided to turn this into a secret and closed session," he said.

The stormy session was a stark contrast to the past three hearings, when each of Saddam's seven co-defendants has appeared, one by one, and was questioned by Abdel-Rahman and the chief prosecutor.

Saddam and the seven former members of his regime face possible execution by hanging if they are convicted in connection to the crackdown launched in Dujail following a July 8, 1982 shooting attack on Saddam's motorcade in the town.

Last month, Saddam stood up in court and boldly acknowledged that he ordered the 148 Shiites put on trial before his Revolutionary Court, which eventually sentenced them all to death. But Saddam insisted it was his right to do so since they were suspected in the attempt to kill him.

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