Saddam trial adjourned after brief session

BAGHDAD, Apr 12 (Reuters) The trial of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein resumed today for a few minutes and then was adjourned until April 17.

No defendants were present due to procedural reasons.

The judge said the purpose of the session was to ask investigative criminal experts to verify the signatures of Saddam and most of his co-accused, who claimed that prosecution documents were forged.

Saddam Hussein and his half brother Barzan al-Tikriti refused to provide the court with samples of their signatures, chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman said in the session.

Saddam and seven co-accused are on trial for the killing of 148 Shi'ite Muslim men and teenagers after an assassination attempt on him in the town of Dujail in 1982.

The former president could face new charges of genocide against Iraq's Kurds as early as next month.

REUTERS KD SP1333