Do not cut off my mike, Saddam pleads with judge

BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (Reuters) Saddam Hussein today asked a judge trying him for genocide against Iraq's ethnic Kurds in the 1980s not to cut off his microphone when he takes the stand.

Saddam made his plea a day after Chief Judge Mohammed al-Ureybi switched off the toppled leader's microphone and ejected him from the courtroom after he began a speech.

''When the accuser and prosecutor talk, the world listens. When the man called 'the accused' speaks, you switch off the microphone.

Is this fair?,'' an unusually subdued Saddam politely asked the judge.

Ureybi, who has taken a hardline with Saddam and six other co-defendants, said he would not allow political speeches in his court.

''The microphone issue is to bring order in the court. If you say anything within the law then you can complain,'' he said.

Dressed in a white shirt and dark suit, Saddam -- who has said he does not fear death -- said he was only trying to clear his name before history.

''Saddam Hussein doesn't care for Saddam Hussein as a person. He only cares for his reputation. When I make things clear I do it for the Iraqi people and those outside.'' After listening to three Kurdish witnesses, Ureybi adjourned the trial until October 17.

Saddam, 69, his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known as ''Chemical Ali'', and five former commanders face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in the 1988 ''Anfal'' (Spoils of war) military campaign, which prosecutors say left 182,000 ethnic Kurds dead or missing.

Saddam and Majeed, who face death by hanging if convicted, are also charged with genocide.

The court trying Saddam for a separate case -- the killing of some 148 Shi'ite men from the town of Dujail in the 1980s -- is due to reconvene on October 16 to review witness testimonies.

A senior source in the court has told Reuters a verdict in that case is expected within 10 days of the session opening.

Reuters SHB DB2131