Iraq - Saddam is cross-examined for first time

The Saddam Hussein trial reconvened Wednesday, but the farce continued as the former leader dismissed the charges against him and then read a poem [CNN]. He told the court that prosecution witnesses at his trial in Baghdad had been bribed and coached in what to say. During Wednesday's proceedings, the prosecution produced documents suggesting that 28 people whose executions Saddam approved had been under 18. But then there were further theatrics. One defence lawyer was ejected for attempting to present pictures of prisoner abuse by US soldiers at Abu Ghraib, to the court. "This is what the Americans did to Iraqis in Abu Ghraib," she said, as the court was examining alleged deaths during interrogation under Saddam Hussein's rule. The judge eventually allowed her to return to court. During the remainder of Wednesday's proceedings, the prosecution produced documents suggesting that 28 people whose executions Saddam approved had been under 18. Saddam Hussein, who appeared on his own, is on trial with seven others for the killing of 148 people in 1982. a nearly six-hour session, Abdel-Rahman adjourned the session until Thursday [BBC].