Saddam creates a stir in court
2005-10-19 12:25
Baghdad - Deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on Wednesday defiantly refused to give his name as he went on trial for crimes against humanity and said he did not recognise the court.
A bearded Saddam described himself as the "president of Iraq" according to footage broadcast from the courtroom with a delay of about 30 minutes.
"I don't acknowledge either the entity that authorises you nor the aggression because everything based on falsehood is falsehood," Saddam told the chief judge.
Saddam, 68, wearing a grey suit with an open-necked white shirt and carrying an old Qur'an was led into his trial by two guards.
As he entered the courtroom, he gestured with his hand to slow the guards down. Saddam sat alone in the front pen, and the other defendants spread among the other two pens.
Chief judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin asked repeatedly Saddam to state his name, profession and tribal name but he refused.
Saddam is on trial along with seven other defendants for the 1982 murder of 143 Shi'ite villagers.
- AFP