BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial ejected the former Iraqi president from the courtroom again on Tuesday, prompting an angry response from some of his fellow defendants.

Ali Hassan al-Majeed, Saddam's cousin who is also known as "Chemical Ali", said he preferred a swift end to the trial over the Anfal campaign against ethnic Kurds in the late 1980s.

"I want my sentence to be passed now and I wish it's the death penalty so I can finish with this court," he told the judge.


Judge Mohammed al-Ureybi ordered Saddam out of the courtroom after cutting off his microphone when he began a speech after the first Kurdish witness had finished her testimony. It was not clear what was said between Saddam and the judge.

Co-defendant Hussein Rasheed, one of Saddam's military commanders at the time of Anfal, was also ejected. Rasheed punched one of the guards who escorted him out and called the prosecutors "pimps" and "traitors".

It was the fourth time in the last five sessions Saddam has been ejected since Ureybi took over as chief judge.

Saddam, Majeed and five former commanders face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in Anfal (Spoils of War) campaign that prosecutors say left 182,000 ethnic Kurds dead or missing and included attacks by the Iraqi army using chemical weapons.

Saddam and Majeed also face a charge of genocide. All face the death penalty.

WITNESS TESTIMONY

The stormy session had earlier heard an anonymous witness who described terrible conditions in several detention centres where she was held with her children.

"One of my relatives was with me and gave birth to a child in the toilet... we placed the baby in a rough sack and cut the umbilical cord with a piece of broken glass," she said.

She told the court she was arrested after Iraqi forces took her husband away in the mountains where they had fled bombing on their village in April 1988.


The woman said she never saw her husband again.

The defence team continued its boycott of the trial in protest at the sacking of the previous judge who angered the government by telling Saddam: "You are not a dictator".

Legal rights groups have said the dismissal could hurt the trial's credibility


By Ahmed Rasheed

What a waste of time and money on this trial. The whole world knows these people are mass murderers so why go through the motions? Saddam is out of court more often than in it because he`s always getting thrown out for throwing tantrums. If they have to go through the motions of staging a trial then I suggest they just leave him in prison whilst it`s taking place.