Saddam Co-defendant Widely Loved, Court Hears

Relatives of the seven co-defendants in the trial of Saddam Hussein testified for the first time today, a day after a revised trial process put the burden of proof on the defence.

Five relatives of the former Ba'ath party officials Abdullah Kazim Ruwayyid and Mizhar Abdullah Ruwayyid took the stand, saying the father and son had nothing to do with the 1982 crackdown for which the eight defendants face death sentences.

The Saddam regime executed 148 people in the crackdown in the town of Dujail after the former leader narrowly survived an assassination attempt. Dujail, 40 miles north of Baghdad, had been a centre of opposition to Saddam's regime.

The Da'wa party, which carried out the attack on Saddam's motorcade, now makes up one of the most important blocs in Iraq's Shia Muslim-controlled parliament. The prime minister-designate, Jawad al-Maliki, and his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Jaafari, are among its members.

The relatives spoke from behind a curtain, and their identities were kept secret to prevent reprisals. Several defence lawyers in the case have been killed since proceedings began last October.

"Mizhar is a simple man. He just works as a telephone operator. Everybody in Dujail loves him," one of them insisted.

The hearing today saw a continuation of often farcical scenes that have characterised the seven-month trial, with the chief judge, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, arguing with defence lawyers about whether witnesses were allowed to refer to Saddam as "Mr President".

"We reject the court's interference in choosing the witness's words," the chief defence lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said. "The defence team is insisting that President Saddam Hussein is the legal and legitimate president of Iraq, and he is so despite the invasion."

Two key planks of the defence case are that Saddam is legally still president of Iraq and that the Dujail crackdown was a legitimate response to the assassination attempt.

In an attempt to cut through the morass of proceedings, Mr Abdel-Rahman yesterday announced charges against Saddam based on the accusations so far presented to the court.

The move in effect places the burden of proof on the defence team. Mr Abdel-Rahman focused on the alleged killing of 17 people, including women and children, during interrogation or before trial in the Dujail crackdown.

The prosecution argues that the trials of conspirators in the Dujail case were largely show trials to justify an act of collective punishment against the population of the town. Some of the people tried in 1982 had already been killed, the prosecution claims.

Mr Abdel-Rahman was forced to enter a not-guilty plea for Saddam after the former president refused to plead either way.

Asked to offer a plea yesterday, Saddam again refused to recognise the court

"I am the president of the republic by the will of Iraqis, and I respect their will. I do not recognise the agents brought here under banners and given titles," he said.