Saddam disrupts trial with insults

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein shouted his support for Iraqi insurgents, yelling "Long live the mujahidin" in the latest session of his trial yesterday. His top co-defendant Barzan Ibrahim entered wearing long underwear for the second day to signal his rejection of the court.

The session immediately saw heated exchanges between Saddam and chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman, who rebuked the former Iraqi leader for not standing when he addressed the court.

When the judge banged his gavel, Saddam -- dressed in a dark grey suit -- retorted, "Hit your own head with that gavel."

Ibrahim shouted "Long live the Baath," referring to Saddam's former ruling party, as he made his entrance to the court. He wore a long-sleeved undershirt and long underwear and carried a small yellow towel and bottle of water.

When Abdel-Rahman told him to "shut up," Ibrahim replied, "Don't tell me to shut up. I am a person like you -- even better than you."

Ibrahim, Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence chief, wore a similar outfit on Monday when the chief judge forced all eight defendants in the case to attend the session despite a defense boycott. Ibrahim and Saddam did not mention whether they were attending yesterday's session against their will.

Saddam and fellow defendant Awad Hamed al-Bandar said they have not eaten for two days, though they did not clearly say whether they were announcing a hunger strike. Saddam's defense team in Jordan said on Sunday that the defendants were going on hunger strike but later reversed itself and said its information had been incorrect.

The start of Monday's session saw similar outbursts by Saddam and Ibrahim, but the tough-minded Abdel-Rahman pressed ahead with the trial.

The prosecution made its strongest attempt yet to link Saddam personally to executions carried out in a crackdown launched in 1982 following an attempt on his life in the Shiite town of Dujail. It produced execution orders with his signatures and put members of his regime on the witness stand for the first time.