HOWZAT

“He’s a laughing stock. Get him out of the court,” Mr Rahman said. “The bad arrow is back at the chest of its owner. Get him out. He’s coming from America to insult the Iraqi people and the court.”

Even before the verdict was announced, Iraqiya, the state’s official television channel, broadcast children singing: “Judge, you must execute Saddam Hussein, the persecutor”.

()

Yesterday’s session only fed the impression among rights groups that the trial was marred by procedural problems and governmental pressure. Amnesty International called it a “shabby affair”.

Over the past year, in the course of 40 court sessions, Saddam and his henchmen waged a battle against the legitimacy of the US-backed Iraqi government.

They shouted and jeered at Mr Rahman. The former dictator’s co-defendants would shout: “Long live Saddam Hussein.” Al-Tikriti often attended court dressed in his underwear and turned his back to Mr Rahman to register his disgust.

Saddam himself used the courtroom as his stage, insulting President Bush and the tribunal. He declared himself “president of the republic and commander in chief of the armed force”, while Mr Rahman, a small Kurdish man, snapped back: “Your rule has ended. Now you are a defendant in a criminal case.”

Sometimes Saddam made political pronouncements. On March 15 he said: “I call on the people to start resisting the invaders instead of killing each other.”

The sessions proved a stunning reminder of the horrors of Saddam’s regime, as Dujail’s victims recounted the punishments they received after the 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam’s life.

Some spoke of electric shock treatment, having forced enemas and watching their friends being taken away only to see their corpses later, soaked in blood.

They recounted how bulldozers razed their town’s precious orange groves. Some said that they watched al-Tikriti preside over the atrocities.

Yesterday, after the verdicts were announced, Nouri al- Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, who had rooted publicly for Saddam to get the death penalty, urged calm and called for reconciliation among Sunnis and Shias.

Explore Law

• Columnists

• Law Panel

• Law Reports

• Student Law

Times Recommends

• BGC 'set aside £40m to lure Tullett brokers'
• Legal aid review to ensure value
• Fears as 21 magistrates' courts face closure