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Hussein quiet in courtEx-Iraqi leader returns to trial looking subdued
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and seven others accused of crimes against humanity are back in court on Wednesday, one day after dramatic evidence was presented against the former leader. For the second day in a row, the session started off in a quiet way, The Associated Press reported, a contrast to the outbursts seen in the Baghdad court since the trial begun in October. Prosecutors presented a document on Tuesday they said was signed by Hussein approving the executions of more than 140 Shiites in southern Iraq after an assassination attempt in the 1980s. The document was among several introduced Tuesday by chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi concerning the killings of Shiites from the town of Dujail in 1982. Earlier, attorneys for Hussein and the seven co-defendants ended a month-long boycott and asked for a delay in proceedings. They argued that the chief judge and chief prosecutor were biased and should be replaced. Chief Judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman said the request was rejected by the five-judge panel. At that point Hussein's chief lawyer, Khalil Duleimi, said he would appeal the decision and wanted the trial delayed during the appeal process. Then he walked out of the court. Officials said court-appointed lawyers would defend Hussein. One of Hussein's seven co-defendants, half-brother Barzan Hassan al-Tikriti, was involved in a shouting match with the chief judge. He rejects his court-appointed defense lawyer. The trial restarted this week after a two-week adjournment as a series of explosions rocked the Iraqi capital Tuesday, killing at least 33 people and wounding at least 85 others, authorities said. (Full story) Hussein and his co-defendants have been on trial since October 19 in the killing of nearly 150 people from the town of Dujail after a 1982 assassination attempt against Hussein there. They face death by hanging if convicted. In evidence presented Tuesday a memo from the Revolutionary Court, dated June 14, 1984, announced that 148 suspects had been sentenced to death by hanging and listed their names, The Associated Press reported. The prosecutor said the signature on the memo was that of the court's head, Awad al-Bandar, one of Saddam's co-defendants, AP said. A document dated two days later was a presidential order approving all 148 death sentences. The paper was signed by Saddam, al-Moussawi said, displaying the document with the signature on a screen in the court room. The sentences were passed after an "imaginary trial," al-Moussawi told the court. "None of the defendants were brought to court. Their statements were never recorded," he said, according to AP. The last session in mid-February featured more outbursts from Hussein and other defendants. (Full story) The trial often has been punctuated by verbal outbursts and wrangling including Hussein's legal team boycotting the case. They have called the proceedings illegal and biased. Two defense lawyers have been killed, three of the five presiding judges have been replaced, and the court has taken six breaks, twice for more than a month. Defense lawyers had told news agencies in mid-February that Hussein and his co-defendants planned to continue their boycott of the proceedings as long as Abdel-Rahman remained the chief judge. Abdel-Rahman, who took over last month after his predecessor stepped down, has tried to clamp down on courtroom disruptions. (Full story) Defense attorneys claim that Abdel-Rahman is unfit to try the case because he was sentenced to life in absentia in the 1970s for anti-state activity, according to reports from AP. CNN Correspondent Aneesh Raman contributed to this report Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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