Saddam trial resumes, defence case to continue

BAGHDAD, May 30 (Reuters) The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven others accused of crimes against humanity resumed in Baghdad today, with more defence witnesses expected to take the stand.

Eight witnesses -- including two of Saddam's former interior ministers -- took the stand yesterday, testifying for Saddam, his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and former chief judge Awad Hamed al-Bander.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants are accused of a crackdown that led to the execution of 148 Shi'ite men and teenagers from the town of Dujail following a failed assassination bid against him there in 1982.

If convicted, they face possible death by hanging.

Defence witnesses, initially for some of the lesser-known defendants, started taking the stand when the trial resumed on May 15 after a three-week recess following the completion of the prosecution case. The trial began in October.

All the defendants have pleaded not guilty, or like Saddam, were ruled to have so pleaded after contesting the U.S.-backed court's legitimacy.

Reuters SI DB1339