Saddam argues with judge as his trial resumes (AP) Updated: 2005-11-28 20:33
Saddam Hussein argued with the judge and complained about
Iraq's "occupiers" as his trial for crimes against humanity resumed in a Baghdad
court on Monday.
Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein speaks
to Presiding Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin in Baghdad November 28, 2005. The
trial of Saddam and seven aides on charges of crimes against humanity
resumed in a fortified Baghdad courtroom on Monday, with witnesses
expected to take the stand for the first time.
[Reuters] | The deposed Iraqi president, carrying
a copy of the Koran under his arm, arrived slightly late for the court session,
the second in the trial of Saddam and seven aides, which opened on October 19
then adjourned for 40 days.
"They brought me here to the door and I was handcuffed. They cannot bring the
defendant in handcuffs," Saddam said, when asked by chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed
Amin to explain his lateness.
He said he had to walk up four flights of stairs because of a broken elevator
in the heavily fortified courthouse.
"I will tell the police about this," Judge Amin told him in the cool, polite
tone he maintained during several tirades by the former president on the first
day of the trial.
"I don't want you to tell them, I want you to order
them," Saddam replied. "They are invaders and occupiers and you have to order
them."
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