Saddam: I Followed The Rules
Saddam Hussein was cross-examined for the first time in his six-month-old trial Wednesday, saying he approved death sentences against Shiites in the 1980s because he believed the evidence had proven they were involved in an assassination attempt against him.
His argument thus far is that his revolutionary court properly followed its own rules and procedures, in putting 140 men and boys to death, because they were guilty of trying to kill him, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.
Standing alone as the sole defendant in the courtroom, Saddam dodged questions from prosecutors over his role in the crackdown, giving long speeches in which he called the court "illegitimate." He also accused the current Shiite-led Interior Ministry of killing and torturing thousands of Iraqis and bickered with chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman.
By Iraqi law, Saddam can talk as long as wants, so this could take a while, reports Dozier.
The session came a day after prosecutors indicted Saddam on separate charges of genocide, accusing him of trying to exterminate Kurds in a 1980s campaign that killed an estimated 100,000 people. The charges will be dealt with in a separate trial.
In other developments:
In the current trial, Saddam and seven former members of his regime are charged in a crackdown against Shiites launched after a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the town of Dujail. In the sweep that followed, 148 Shiites were killed and hundreds were imprisoned, some of them undergoing torture.
Dressed in a black suit and white shirt, Saddam appeared relaxed throughout Wednesday's questioning, frequently shooting grins at chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi and even reciting a short bit of poetry to the judge.
Al-Moussawi asked Saddam about his approval for death sentences passed against the Shiites by his Revolutionary Court, which prosecutors have argued gave them only a cursory trial.
"That is one of the duties of the president," Saddam replied. "I had the right to question the judgment. But I was convinced the evidence that was presented was sufficient" to show their guilt in the assassination attempt.
Al-Moussawi asked Saddam if he was aware that 28 of those sentenced to death were under 18 years old and presented identity cards for some of the killed minors. Prosecutors have earlier said an 11-year-old boy was among those killed.
Saddam replied that ID cards can easily be forged.
"You can buy IDs like this in the market," he said. "Is it the responsibility of the head of the state to check the IDs of defendants and see how old he is?"
"I could get ahold of an ID saying Raouf is 25 years old," he added, waving toward the judge.
Al-Moussawi also displayed documents showing the approval of medals for intelligence agents involved in the crackdown and approvals for the razing of Dujail farmlands in retaliation for the assassination attempt. Al-Moussawi repeatedly asked if the signatures on the documents were Saddam's.
But Saddam, sometimes smiling at the prosecutor, avoided a direct reply, refusing to confirm the signatures but also stopping short of saying the signatures were forged.
"Any comment, matter or document signed by Saddam Hussein, and it has been proven that the handwriting and the signature are his, then I take the responsibility," he replied.
He demanded an international body examine signatures alleged to be his on documents the prosecution has presented concerning the crackdown. Some of Saddam's co-defendants have insisted signatures said to be theirs are forged.
"You should resort to an impartial, international body" and not a body "that kills thousands people on the streets and tortures them ... the Interior Ministry," Saddam told Abdel-Rahman, referring to the now Shiite-controlled ministry, which some Iraqis accuse of backing Shiite militias that have assassinated Sunni Arabs.
"Don't venture into political matters," Abdel-Rahman replied.
"If you are scared of the interior minister, he doesn't scare my dog," Saddam retorted.
Iraq has seen a wave of killings and attacks between Shiites and Sunnis since the Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in the city of Samarra.
At the beginning of the session, Saddam launched into a speech in response to the prosecutor's first question, bringing repeated demands by Abdel-Rahman that he answer the question.
Saddam denounced the court as illegitimate, saying "a body whose base and formation is illegitimate and unjust can't pronounce justice. How could anyone imagine that it could issue a verdict on the Iraqi president, who stood as a sharp spear inside the eyes of those who planned and worked to poke Iraq's eyes?"
Saddam had been due to testify and be questioned in the previous session of the trial, on March 15. But instead, he gave a rambling speech calling on Iraqis to stop sectarian violence and unite to fight American troops. After arguing with Saddam, Abdel-Rahman closed most of the session to the public to allow Saddam to finish his speech.
Saddam and the seven former members of his regime face possible execution by hanging if they are convicted in connection with the Dujail crackdown launched following a July 8, 1982 shooting attack on Saddam's motorcade in the town.