Saddam engages his accusers with questions

The special court in the trial of the toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and seven of his companions listened yesterday to a new group of witnesses in the 7th session concerning the case of killing 148 persons in the Dajil city.

Two witnesses gave their testimonies in the first morning session and the court listened to a lengthy testimony from one of the witnesses in the second session. The witness said that his brother was killed the day of Saddam Hussein's assassination attempt.

He said that he was detained together with members of his family for a long time in Abu Ghreb jail, and then they were evacuated to the desert in al-Samawa city, southern Iraq. The witness reviewed health and psychological suffering the detainees underwent.

The witness accused each of Saddam Hussein and his brother Barazan al-Tikriti and the former Iraqi vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan and the chairman of the former revolution court Awad al-Bandar of killing his 6 brothers.

The former Qatari minister of justice Najib al-Nueimi was the first to interrogate the witness. He told the court that the death of the witness's brother had taken place in the desert southern Iraq and is not related to the mass killings accusations filed against Saddam.

Lawyer Khalil al-Duleimi said that testimonies of the witnesses did not include any accusations against his client. He said that the defense commission noted the difference in the testimonies. Saddam Hussein asked the witness how old he was when he was released from Laya desert area, to which the witness said he was 14 year old.

Saddam asked the witness to describe the house when he left it, and the witness said that the house had basic food requirements and Saddam said "this means they were treated as Iraqis. and the reason they were stayed there for long was the reshuffle in security directors." Saddam said that a memorandum was submitted to him over these prisoners and it was said in that memorandum that the persons convicted to death were not executed and he said he ordered the release of all of them. He stressed that the detainees in Laya desert received good treatment and that their doors, as the witness said were only locked from inside, rather from outside.

He said " I gathered women with men and children so that the families to stay together.."