Defence witnesses take stand in Saddam trial

Baghdad, Jun 12: 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.

Witnesses for the accused, who were all present when the session got under way in a heavily-protected courtroom, started testifying last month after the completion of the prosecution case. The trial began last October.

The eight defendants are accused over reprisals that led to the killings of 148 Shi'ite Muslim men after a failed assassination bid against Saddam in the village of Dujail north of Baghdad in 1982.

At the previous session a week ago, the defence team sought to undermine the prosecution case by saying that 10 people out of those said to have been killed after the attempt on Saddam's life were still alive 24 years later.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty or, like Saddam, were ruled to have so pleaded after contesting the U.S.-backed court's legitimacy. If convicted, they could be hanged.

Saddam's co-accused include senior figures such as his half brother and former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti as well as four former local officials from his Baath Party.

REUTERS