Baghdad, Iraq – Saddam Hussein’s genocide trial adjourned for two weeks Tuesday after a stormy session during which the chief judge expelled all seven defendants after a shouting match.
Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa declared the recess until Oct. 9 to give defendants time to persuade their lawyers to end their boycott of the trial – or to confer with new ones.
Hussein also is awaiting a verdict in the first case against him stemming from the deaths of Shiite Muslims in Dujayl following a 1982 attempt to assassinate him.
A verdict is likely next month, and Hussein could receive the death penalty if convicted.
Tuesday’s session was the second straight session in which Hussein has been thrown out of the courtroom. The trial has turned dramatically more chaotic this week after al-Khalifa replaced the previous chief judge, who was accused of being too soft on the former president.
Hussein and his six co-defendants have been on trial since Aug. 21 for their roles in a bloody 1987-88 crackdown against Kurdish rebels. The defendants could face the death penalty if convicted.
Trouble started Tuesday when Hussein, clutching his Koran, tried to interrupt the prosecution during the questioning of one of the seven Kurdish witnesses who testified.
“You are a defendant, and I’m the judge,” al-Khalifa said, telling Hussein to sit down.
The defiant ex-president refused and continued speaking even though the judge shut off court microphones.
The six other defendants then joined the shouting match, prompting the judge to order Hussein removed.
As Hussein left smiling, his six co-defendants demanded they be allowed to leave too.
A court official said the judge expelled the rest of the defendants, and the session resumed with none of them in the courtroom.
