BAGHDAD — A thinner, more wrinkled Saddam Hussein, brought to court in chains and an off-the-rack suit jacket, defiantly faced down a young Iraqi judge Thursday when he was arraigned on seven charges related to the killing of thousands of people during his decades as the absolute ruler of Iraq.
During a 26-minute court appearance that took place on the grounds of one of his former palaces, the former Baath Party leader, who had not been seen publicly since his December arrest, showed that he had lost none of his acerbic temperament.
Speaking to a lone judge who under rules of the court could not be identified, Hussein said he should be addressed as the current president of Iraq. He questioned the legitimacy of the proceeding and called President Bush a "criminal," his planned trial an election-year "farce," and the Kuwaitis whose country he invaded and occupied in 1990 "dogs" and "mad dogs." At the last insult, the judge admonished Hussein to mind his language.
Insisting that the court had no jurisdiction to strip him of his presidential immunity for alleged crimes committed during his rule, Hussein refused in the end to sign a statement acknowledging that he had been informed of his rights and that he had been read the charges against him. He waved off the document, saying that he needed to consult an attorney.
In addition to Hussein, 11 "high-value detainees" were brought from their detention facilities in a specially armored bus to the courthouse. They included former Deputy Prime Minister Tarik Aziz and Ali Hassan Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" for his suspected role in a 1988 chemical attack on a Kurdish village.
Compared with Hussein, the other defendants appeared, to varying degrees, uncertain and fearful, and more willing to cooperate with the court. Several complained that they had not been allowed to contact their families. Their defense against the charges they faced was, in effect, that they had been simply following orders and should not be held responsible for decisions made by the country's leadership.
Hussein's trial promises to be the most-followed of a political leader in years, and already has divided Iraqis. One radio survey in Baghdad showed listeners almost evenly split between favoring execution and setting him free. Human rights activists have questioned whether Hussein would receive a fair trial in Iraq, which is still unstable and riven by violence.
