Saddam appears in court for first time since hunger strike
Saddam Hussein appeared in court in Baghdad today for the first time since his hunger strike and hospital stay, looking thinner and complaining that he had been brought to the chamber against his will.
“I was brought against my will directly from the hospital,” Saddam told the chief judge.
The ousted president made a brief statement beginning with a verse from the Koran before a court-appointed attorney began delivering the final summation on his behalf. Saddam was last in court June 19 when chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi asked the court to impose the death penalty on the former ruler for his role in the deaths of Shiite Muslims in Dujail following a 1982 assassination attempt against him.
He was rushed to hospital on Sunday on the 17th day of a hunger strike launched to protest the trial and demand beter security for the defence team following the assassination of three of its members.
Saddam and seven co-defendants have been on trial since October 19 in the Dujail case. The court is expected to adjourn following final summations for all eight defendants and then render a verdict, possibly in mid-August.
