Witnesses tell of torture as Saddam stays out of court

TWO prosecution witnesses in the Saddam Hussein trial testified yesterday about torture at the hands of his security forces, but the former Iraqi leader and his co-defendants did not attend because they either boycotted the session or were barred from court.

Saddam and the other defendants watched the proceedings by a video hookup from elsewhere in the building, a Western diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the trial.

After an unusually short session of less than two hours, chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman adjourned the trial for nearly two weeks until February 13, apparently to allow time to try to resolve the stand-off with the defence.

The boycott by defendants and their entire defence team has raised concerns over the credibility of a landmark trial that US and Iraqi officials hoped would help Iraqis move beyond the sharp divisions left by the Saddam era. The video hookup appeared to be a stopgap measure to get around the problem, at least temporarily.

The former Iraqi leader and four of the other defendants have boycotted the trial since Sunday, when their defence team walked out of court. Judge Abdel-Rahman barred the remaining three defendants from yesterday’s session for creating “chaos” outside the court. He did not elaborate.

The eight defendants’ chairs stood empty in a pen in front of the bench, as the judge ordered the proceedings to continue. The court heard two witnesses, both testifying from behind a curtain to hide their identities.

The first witness to take the stand yesterday said he was 12 when he was arrested in Dujail, then tortured by interrogators who hung him by the hands and gave him electric shocks. He told the court his sister was stripped naked and beaten in front of him.

“People returning (to their cells) from torture sessions could not walk for days. We had to carry them to the toilet,” he said.

The defence team has said it will not participate in the trial until judge Abdel-Rahman is removed, alleging he is biased against Saddam.

Judge Abdel-Rahman appointed new defence attorneys but Saddam has rejected the new lawyers and refused to attend the trial until their original ones are restored.