Relatives of defendants testify in Saddam trial

Relatives of defendants in the trial of Saddam Hussein and former members of his regime took the stand in Baghdad today as the defence tried to knock down charges of crimes against humanity that carry a possible death penalty by hanging.

The testimony came a day after chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman announced the charges against Saddam and his seven co-defendants, bringing the seven-month-old trial to a new, intensified level.