An American lawyer on Saddam Hussein’s defence team today lashed out at the Baghdad court trying him, saying it was not giving the defence enough time to present its case, intimidated its witnesses and put the defence at “a serious disadvantage”.

Saddam Hussein’s half-brother, former intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim, has denied taking part in a crackdown against Shiites in the 1980s as he testified today for the first time in the trial of the former Iraqi leader and members of his regime.

A former judge from Saddam Hussein’s regime today insisted that 148 Shiites he sentenced to death in Iraq were given a proper trial, trying to defend himself on charges of killing the men in a crackdown in the 1980s.

The trial of Saddam Hussein and fellow members of his regime resumed today, with the judge calling in each defendant individually to present his testimony.