Saddam trial resumes with new chief judge
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-29 16:47

The trial of Saddam Hussein resumed on Sunday with a new chief judge after a series of delays, a Reuters witness said.

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein sits alone as his co-defendants, unseen, arrive in court for their trial held under tight security in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, Sunday Jan. 29, 2006. The troubled Saddam Hussein trial resumed Sunday with a new judge after a dispute on the court was patched over, though worries remained over whether political interference is threatening the tribunal's independence. The resumption had been delayed for nearly a week when some judges on the five-member panel hearing the trial opposed the appointment of Raouf Abdel-Rahman as the presiding judge. Saddam and his seven co-defendants are charged in the deaths of about 140 Shiite Muslims following an assassination attempt against the former Iraqi leader in the Shiite town of Dujail in 1982. [AP]

The new judge, Raouf Abdel Rahman, will be presiding over the eighth session of the trial as a substitute for Rizgar Amin, who resigned in protest over alleged government interference.

The trial resumed after a five-day postponement that prompted Saddam's defence team to call for proceedings to be abandoned.

The trial has been marred by numerous delays, the murder of two members of the defence team, the resignation of Amin, and the accusation that his stand-in, Sayeed al-Hamashi, belonged to Saddam's ousted Baath party.

Abdel Rahman faces the challenge of trying to restore public confidence in the trial, which has been dominated by Saddam's tirades.