Saddam dominates trial again

The former president told the court Americans had beaten him everywhere on his body.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- It wasn't easy to steal the thunder from a witness testifying about children dying in prison and detainees' skin being ripped off by molten water hoses. But Saddam Hussein did just that without even uttering a word.
Sitting in the defendant's pen, Saddam quietly swung to the left, closed his eyes and repeatedly bowed his head in prayer in keeping with the pious image he's been projecting in court.
Later Wednesday, the former dictator again grabbed center stage. He suddenly stood up and surprised the courtroom with claims that he and other defendants were "beaten by Americans."
A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad called Saddam's allegations "completely unfounded" but said "we are prepared to investigate."
"Beyond that, we have no interest in being a part of what are clearly courtroom antics aimed at disrupting the legal process," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson.
The trial's chief prosecutor, Jaafar al-Mousawi, said if authorities found evidence of abuse Saddam could be transferred to the physical custody of Iraqi troops.
Saddam and seven co-defendants are on trial for the deaths of more than 140 Shiites after an attempt on Saddam's life in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad, in 1982.
Witness testimony
The prosecution's first witness Wednesday testified about killings and torture in Dujail. Ali Hassan Mohammed al-Haidari, who was 14 at the time, said Saddam's regime executed seven of his brothers.
Al-Haidari said that he and other residents from Dujail -- including family members -- were taken to Baghdad and thrown into a security services prison, where people from "9 to 90" were held.
Blood poured from head wounds and skin was pale from electric shocks, he testified. Security officials would drip melted plastic hoses on detainees, only to pull it off after it cooled, tearing skin off with it, he said.
"I cannot express all that suffering and pain we faced in the 70 days inside," he said.
Two witnesses later testified from behind a curtain. One of them, identified only as Witness No. 2, said security officials "attached clamps to my thumbs and toes and private areas and tortured me with electricity until foam came out of my mouth."
After sitting quietly through several hours of testimony, Saddam launched into an extended monologue, saying he'd been beaten "everywhere on my body. The marks are still there." He did not display any marks.
"I want to say here, yes, we have been beaten by the Americans and we have been tortured," Saddam told the court before gesturing toward his seven co-defendants, "one by one."
With the trial televised across Iraq, his claims of torture at the hands of U.S. troops may resonate with Iraqis who have been shocked by the abuse of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison.