The mass murder trial of Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants proceeded with its usual chaos Wednesday, with the proceedings were peppered with outbursts from Saddam and his half-brother.
Defense attorneys questioned the validity of the memories of the witnesses and accused the witness of being coached, as Barazan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Saddam Hussein lectured the judge and criticized the court.
In past proceedings, the hearings unfolded like a circus with outbursts by defendants, especially Barazan, who spat at an official and complained about cheap cigarettes in jail. Wednesday, the defendants were somewhat more restrained even as the judge allowed them to ramble on about their innocence.
Outbursts from the defendants were few until after the testimony of the second witness. Saddam Hussein, who was absent from the previous day of the trial after telling the judge to “go to hell,” sat in a clean white shirt and suit and calmly watched the proceedings
