Home>News Center>World
         
 

Handcuffed in his former palace, Saddam defiant
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-07-01 21:11

He arrived handcuffed and in chains at a courtroom in a complex that was once one of his palaces. But although Saddam Hussein has been overthrown and captured, he had not lost his defiance.

"I am Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq," he told a hearing where he was read seven charges, according to pool reporters in the courtroom at Camp Victory, a sprawling U.S. base that was previously a lavish hunting estate with a man-made lake.


A video grab shows Iraq's deposed dictator Saddam Hussein appearing before an Iraqi tribunal in Iraq July 1, 2004. Downcast but defiant, Saddam refused to recognise its authority and said the "real criminal" was U.S. President George W. Bush. [Reuters]

Saddam Hussein rejected charges of war crimes and genocide against him in an courtroom at a U.S. base at an undisclosed location Thursday, July 1, 2004. Image from video. [AP]

"This is all theater," Saddam said. "The real criminal is (U.S. President George W.) Bush."

CNN's Christiane Amanpour, one of a handful of pool journalists allowed into the courtroom, said Saddam looked "alternately downcast and combative."

He was thinner than he had appeared in U.S. footage taken just after he was captured hiding in a hole near his hometown of Tikrit in December, and the wild beard he sported when he was captured was now neatly trimmed. He had bags under his eyes.


The photo was taken soon after Saddam's arrest. [Reuters]

Saddam appears before an Iraqi tribunal Thursday. [Reuters]
He declared he was president of Iraq and that the country's occupiers could not strip him of that title. The judge told him that, under the Geneva Conventions, they could.

Saddam refused to concede that the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 was a crime, denouncing the Kuwaitis.

"They were trying to turn Iraqi women into prostitutes for just $10," he said. "How could you defend those dogs?"

The judge warned him not to use such language.

Saddam also refused to sign a statement acknowledging that he had been charged and read his rights. The hearing followed the end of his prisoner of war status and his transfer from U.S. to Iraqi legal custody on Wednesday.

Hearing the charge that he ordered the killing of thousands of Kurds in a poison gas attack at Halabja in 1988, Saddam seemed to imply he had nothing to do with it.


A video grab shows Iraq's deposed dictator Saddam Hussein appearing before an Iraqi tribunal in Iraq July 1, 2004. Downcast but defiant, Saddam refused to recognise its authority and said the "real criminal" was U.S. President George W. Bush. [Reuters]
"Yes, I heard about that," he said.

The courtroom is close to the palace in the middle of an artificial lake stocked with fish on the southwest fringe of Baghdad. Members of Saddam's inner circle used to go hunting in the grounds, and soldiers say Saddam's playboy son Uday used one of the palace buildings for his assignations.

The small sandstone-colored court building is next to a blue-domed mosque, and was formerly the imam's residence.

It has been used for several courts martial, and for last week's hearing for Specialist Sabrina Harman, one of the seven American soldiers charged with abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the notorious Abu Ghraib jail -- where thousands of Iraqis were imprisoned and tortured under Saddam.

Told by the judge at the hearing that legal counsel would be provided for him if he needed it, Saddam said: "But everyone says, the Americans say, I have millions of dollars stashed away in Geneva. Why shouldn't I afford a lawyer?"



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

Officials punished for SARS virus leak

 

   
 

Saddam scoffs at charges of war crimes

 

   
 

Jump in water prices stayed

 

   
 

New vehicle emission standards formulated

 

   
 

Officials foretell new futures markets

 

   
 

Hong Kong looks to bright future

 

   
  Death toll in Afghan bomb attacks rises to four
   
  Iran denies crewmen forced into its waters
   
  Kuwaiti official seeks Saddam execution
   
  Top Saudi Qaeda spiritual guide killed in Riyadh
   
  Handcuffed in his former palace, Saddam defiant
   
  Raiding Israeli forces kill Gaza boy
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Will Saddam Hussein get a fair trial?  
Advertisement