Saddam Hussein Trial Reopens

The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants for crimes against humanity today resumed in Baghdad after a 40-day break in proceedings.

The former dictator was brought into the court in Baghdad's fortified green zone shortly after 11.30am local time (8.30am GMT) and was the last of the eight to take his seat.

Wearing a white shirt and charcoal jacket, he carried a Koran under his arm and uttered the Arabic greeting "Peace to the people of peace" as he entered the courtroom eight minutes late.

He blamed the delay on a malfunctioning lift and said his shackles - removed by the time he was in the dock - had made it hard for him climb the four flights of stairs to the court while carrying papers.

The trial judge, Rizgar Amin, who won praise for his handling of a truculent Saddam during the opening session in October, was rebuked by the former dictator when he said he would tell the guards not to let it happen again.

"You do not tell them. You order them. You are an Iraqi, they are conquerors and occupiers," he told Judge Amin.

The charges in the trial - the first in as many as a dozen that Saddam could face - relate to the massacre of more than 140 men and boys from the Shia Muslim town of Dujail, the scene of a botched assassination attempt on Saddam in 1982.

Television footage from the Baghdad court showed Judge Amin questioning the defendants. The eight are Saddam; his then-intelligence chief, Barazan Ibrahim; his vice-president, Taha Yassin Ramadan; Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the head of his court; and four senior Ba'ath party officials in the Dujail region, Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid, Ali Dayim Ali, Mohammed Azawi Ali and Mizhar Abdullah Ruwayyid.

The 40-day gap was requested by the accused men's legal team to allow them more time to prepare a defence. Defence lawyers for Saddam and the other defendants, who were today joined by Ramsey Clarke, the former US attorney general, have indicated that they will argue for an adjournment of up to three months to give them more time to prepare for the case.

If that motion is rejected, then witnesses for the prosecution are expected to give evidence for the first time. The eight men deny the charges of murder, torture, forced expulsions and illegal imprisonment.

Staging a credible trial of the former president in Baghdad has proved a political and security nightmare for the Iraqi government and its US backers.

Two of Saddam's defence lawyers have been murdered since the October hearing and a plot yesterday uncovered to assassinate Judge Amin. A moment of silence was held in the court as a mark of respect for the two lawyers.

Residents of Dujail told Reuters at the weekend that death threats had already been made against some witnesses.

The entire defence team has meanwhile threatened to boycott the trial unless they received guarantees of US protection.

Mr Clarke, who in the past has also spoken in defence of Slobodan Milosevic and opposed the Vietnam war, has said he intends to challenge the legality of the court in his capacity as an adviser to the defence team.

"A fair trial in this case is absolutely imperative for historical truth. It is absolutely essential that the court is legal in its constitution," he told Reuters.