April 5, 2006

Wednesday, April 05, 2006


BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Saddam Hussein returned to court on Wednesday and, in remarks likely to inflame sectarian tensions, immediately accused the Iraqi Interior Ministry of killing and torturing thousands of Iraqis.

The toppled leader, who could face a death sentence, remained defiant one day after the court announced that he would face new charges of genocide against the ethnic Kurdish population in the late 1980s.

He could face another trial as early as next month.

Saddam refused to sign documents, saying that only an international court would be fair, and denounced the Interior Ministry.

"It's the side that kills thousands in the street and tortures them ...," he said, criticizing the Shi'ite-run ministry, which is accused of running death squads by the Sunni Arabs who were dominant when Saddam ruled Iraq.

When the judge interrupted him, Saddam said: "If you're scared of the Interior Minister, he doesn't scare my dog."

Interior Minister Bayan Jabor is a hate figure among Sunnis, who accuse him of waging a sectarian war against them and allowing Shi'ite militias to run hit squads with impunity. He denies the accusations.

Saddam was the only defendant in the chamber, which he has dominated with tirades questioning the court's legitimacy and urging Iraqis to rise up against U.S. occupation troops.

Saddam and seven co-accused are charged with killing 148 Shi'ite Muslims after an attempt on his life in the town of Dujail in 1982.

He has said he was acting within the law against people who tried to kill him.

The special tribunal trying Saddam said on Tuesday that he would face charges of genocide against the Kurds, who accuse him of killing more than 100,000 people and destroying thousands of their villages in the late 1980s in the Anfal campaign.

Saddam sat in the chamber in a dark suit and white shirt as his emotional lawyer argued his case.

Saddam angrily pointed a finger at chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi after he interrupted his statement to try and get him to answer a question. Saddam said "You were a soldier and Saddam Hussein made you a lawyer."

"I chose to study law but that's beside the point, do you challenge your testimony that you gave in front of the chief investigative judge?" said Moussawi.
(c) Reuters 2006. All rights reserved.