Saddam trial resumes in Baghdad
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-12 21:08

BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein's trial resumed on Sunday with a fellow defendant taking the stand to deny any involvement in the killing of 148 Shi'ites in the 1980s.

Ahead of the trial, a series of mortar blasts and roadside bombings rocked Baghdad, killing 10 people. Similar violence has greeted previous resumptions of the trial, which began in October. The court last sat on March 1.

Chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman listens to the testimony of Ali Daeem Ali, a former Baath party official in the Dujail region, during his trial as co-defendant of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Baghdad March 12, 2006. The trial of Saddam resumed on Sunday as a series of bomb blasts rocked the capital killing at least 10 people.  [Reuters]

Former Iraqi leader Saddam was not in court as he waited his turn to testify. Saddam and seven others are charged with crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of 148 men from Dujail after an attempt on his life in the mainly Shi'ite town in 1982.

Mizhir Abdullah Kathim Ruwaid, a former low-level official of Saddam's Baath party employed in Dujail's postal department, denied being involved in the alleged crime.

He distanced himself from a statement he signed in the presence of investigating judge Raed Jouhi which said he had received orders from Saddam's half-brother and intelligence chief, Barzan al-Tikriti, to arrest the men.

"I didn't say that. I might as well have been signing a blank paper because I didn't have my glasses when Judge Jouhi met me," he testified.

Appearing nervous and wearing an Arab headdress, he repeatedly swore in God's name as he insisted he was innocent of the charges.

The prosecution presented a letter in the last session purportedly signed by Ruwaid and addressed to the interior minister at the time. It included the names of some of the Shi'ites who were killed.

MINOR ROLES

Ruwaid and three other minor Baath party officials, including his father, are only implicated in the Dujail killings, unlike Saddam who still faces trial in other cases.

After Ruwaid spoke for over an hour, Ali Dayi Ali, took the stand to begin his defence.

Later in the trial, the prosecution will be able to bring more evidence if it wishes and defendants will have a further chance to make their case.

Each defendant will get the opportunity to rebut the charges against them in the next few days and will not appear in court until it is their turn to testify. It was not clear when Saddam was scheduled to appear.

Hearings are expected to last several days this week followed by a probable adjournment of several weeks for the court to prepare more specific charge sheets.

All defence lawyers were present at Sunday's hearing, including former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, who said last week that hanging Saddam would only deepen sectarian tensions between minority Sunnis and majority Shi'ites in Iraq.

In the last session on March 1, Saddam acknowledged ordering trials that led to executions of the 148 and razing farms around Dujail. But he insisted he had acted within the law as Iraq's president.

His statement, described by one U.S. official as a "damning" admission, came after the prosecution produced what it said was a "death warrant" signed by Saddam that condemned the Shi'ite men to hanging.