Saddam´s first day in court - today

[Rolo]

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A defiant Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) rejected charges of war crimes and genocide against him in a court appearance Thursday, telling a judge "this is all theater, the real criminal is Bush," according to a reporter in an official media pool.

Saddam's hands were cuffed when he was brought to the court but the shackles were removed for the 30-minute arraignment at Camp Victory, a former Saddam palace on the outskirts of Baghdad.

"I am Saddam Hussein, the president of Iraq (news - web sites)," Saddam twice said, according to the CNN reporter, who described him as alternately downcast and defiant. Other times, Saddam appeared confused.

In his first public appearance since he was captured seven months ago, Saddam refused to sign a list of charges against him unless a lawyer was present, and he questioned the court's jurisdiction, according to the reporter. Saddam defended the invasion of Kuwait, saying it was "for the Iraqi people."

When he referred to the Kuwaitis as "dogs," the judge admonished him for using such language in a court of law.

The seven broad charges against Saddam are the killing of religious figures in 1974; gassing of Kurds in Halabja in 1988; killing the Kurdish Barzani clan in 1983; killing members of political parties in the last 30 years; the 1986-88 "Anfal" campaign of displacing Kurds; the suppression of the 1991 uprisings by Kurds and Shiites; and the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Specific charges will be filed later, Iraqi officials said. Those charges were expected to include war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. A formal indictment with specific charges is expected later, said Salem Chalabi, director of the Iraqi Special Tribunal. The trial is not expected until 2005.

Saddam wore a charcoal-colored, pinstriped jacket with an open-collar white shirt and black shoes. He often stroked his trimmed, gray-and-black beard and he had heavy bags under his eyes, according to televised images of his appearance. He sat calmly, gesturing with his hands while addressing the court and sometimes taking notes on a piece of yellow paper.

His appearance was in sharp contrast to televised images of him after his December capture, when he seemed heavier, his beard was longer and his hair was gray and unkempt.

Saddam was seated in front of the judge, with a wooden bar separating the two. The tape showed the judge from behind and from the side.

When asked if he could afford a lawyer, Saddam retorted: "The Americans say I have millions hidden in Switzerland. How can I not have the money to pay for one?"

Saddam was flown by helicopter from an undisclosed location and driven to a courtroom on a U.S. base, the report said. He was led from an armored bus escorted by two Iraqi prison guards and ushered through a door guarded by six more Iraqi policemen. The bus was escorted by four Humvees and an ambulance.

Strict pool arrangements severely limited media access to the hearing. The pool video, which was cleared by the U.S. military, was initially broadcast without sound.

At one point, according to a commentary by Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera, Saddam asked the judge whether he would be tried under laws from the Saddam era or "under which law?"

Saddam told the court that the U.S. and multinational troops in Iraq were not "coalition troops but invasion troops," according to Al-Jazeera.

Saddam insisted on the judge referring to him as the "president of the Republic of Iraq" because "this would be respecting the will of the people," according to Al-Jazeera.

Saddam and 11 of his top lieutenants were transferred to Iraqi custody Wednesday. They no longer are prisoners of war but are still locked up, with U.S. forces as their jailers.

"The next legal step would be that the investigations start proper with investigative judges and investigators beginning the process of gathering evidence," Chalabi said. "Down the line, there will be an indictment, if there is enough evidence — obviously, and a timetable starts with respect to a trial date."

"They were surprised that they were told they're in Iraqi custody," Chalabi told AP Radio.

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