Iraq hopes Saddam's trial verdict comes soon

BAGHDAD, Oct 30 (Reuters) A US-backed court trying Saddam Hussein for crimes against humanity should deliver its verdict soon because the case has ''gone on too long'', Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said today.

Earlier, Saddam's defence lawyer walked out of a separate trial hearing genocide charges against the ousted Iraqi leader after the judge rejected a set of demands he presented to end a boycott by the defence team.

Zebari made his comments a day after the chief prosecutor said a verdict due on November 5 could be delayed by a few days, a move that would shift the announcement until after the November 7 US congressional elections.

''I think the time has come really for the court to give its verdict. This has gone on too long and the facts are there and very clear and really bringing this issue of Saddam to a closure one way or another,'' Zebari told Reuters in an interview.

Subject to any appeal, Saddam could hang if he is found guilty over his role in the killing of 148 Shi'ite Muslims in the village of Dujail after a 1982 assassination attempt.

Asked if he expected a verdict on November 5, Zebari, a member of the ethnic Kurd minority persecuted under Saddam, said: ''I really hope there could be a verdict as soon as possible because I think it has run its course.'' A guilty verdict could reflect positively on Bush as a vindication of his policy to overthrow Saddam at a time when dwindling public support over Iraq could cost the Republicans control of Congress in next week's voting.

The court was set up by a US occupation administration after the 2003 invasion to try Iraqi leaders charged with crimes during the rule of Saddam, captured by US forces in December 2003.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite Islamist, said he hoped legal proceedings would be short and that Saddam would be found guilty and sentenced to death soon.

In September, the government sacked the chief judge trying Saddam on genocide charges, saying he had abandoned his neutrality by stating Saddam was not a dictator. This prompted criticism by international legal groups, which say government pressure and sectarian violence make a fair trial impossible.

SADDAM: ''MY PRESIDENT'' Saddam is also on trial for alleged genocide against the Kurds in a 1988 military campaign which prosecutors say killed 180,000 Kurds, some by gassing.

His defence lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi made a brief appearance in court on Monday to present 12 demands for ending a boycott under way since September, but walked out when chief judge Mohammed al-Ureybi rejected them.

Proceedings continued with a court-appointed lawyer.

The demands included a probe into allegations that one of Saddam's co-defendants was beaten up by prison guards last month and that the defence team be allowed to include foreign lawyers.

Before Dulaimi made his demands, Ureybi interrupted him for addressing Saddam as ''my president''. ''There is no president in this court except for the president of this court,'' Ureybi said.

Saddam's cousin ''Chemical Ali'' Hassan al-Majid, and five other Iraqi commanders are on trial with Saddam for their roles in the anti-Kurdish Anfal (Spoils of War) campaign. Saddam is facing at least a dozen separate trials stemming from his rule.

REUTERS SP BST20.00