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Iraqi TV: Court workers attacked Saddam
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-17 09:15
Two court employees attacked Saddam Hussein and punched him several times
after he cursed two Shiite Islam saints, state-run Iraqi television reported
Wednesday.
Iraqiya television, quoting people close to the investigative judges, did not
say when the incident occurred. However, Saddam's lawyers said in July that
their client was attacked during an interrogation session. The chief
investigative judge of the special court dealing with Saddam denied the claims
at the time.
Iraqi TV reported late Wednesday that the incident occurred after Saddam was
being questioned about his efforts to suppress the 1991 Shiite uprising in
southern Iraq, which broke out after U.S.-led forces drove Iraq's army from
Kuwait.
Saddam Hussein speaks to presiding judge
Rizgur Ameen Hana Al-Saedi as his trial begins in a heavily fortified
courthouse in Baghdad's Green Zone.
[AFP/file] | The shrines of half brothers Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in the Shiite holy
city of Karbala were damaged by Saddam's forces as they crushed the uprising,
killing tens of thousands of Shiites.
"Saddam insulted Imam Hussein and his brother Imam Abbas provoking two of the
court's clerks who were taking notes. They attacked the tyrant and punched him
several times," the station said. It did not elaborate.
In July, Saddam's defense team issued a statement in Jordan saying that a man
burst out from people who gathered in the court room and tried to hit Saddam as
the ousted leader was leaving the courtroom at the end of a 45-minute hearing.
"There was an exchange of blows between the man and the president," the
statement said, also claiming that the judge overseeing the hearing did nothing
to stop the assault.
The claims could not be independently confirmed.
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