סאדאם: איך בין פרעזידענט און איראק

Saddam Insists He's Still Iraqi President (AP)

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein testified Wednesday for the first time at his trial, and the judge closed the court after the ex-dictator's speech calling for Iraqis to end sectarian violence and fight U.S. troops instead.
Even as the judge repeatedly yelled at Saddam to stop making what he called political speeches, the deposed leader read from a prepared text, insisting he was still Iraq's president.
"Let the (Iraqi) people unite and resist the invaders and their backers. Don't fight among yourselves," he said, praising the insurgency. "In my eyes, you are the resistance to the American invasion."
Finally, Chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman ordered the session closed to the public, telling journalists to leave the chamber. The delayed video feed also was cut.
"The court has decided to turn this into a secret and closed session," he said.
After nearly two hours, reporters were called back into the court, where Saddam sat alone in the defendants' pen before the judge.
The former Iraqi leader then refused to answer questions from the chief prosecutor, demanding to see a copy of his testimony given to investigators before the trial began. Prosecutors agreed and said they would question Saddam in the next session.
Abdel-Rahman then adjourned the trial until April 5.
Saddam was the last of the case's eight defendants to testify. Though he has spoken frequently since the trial began in October, Wednesday's session was to be the first chance for the judge and prosecutors to directly question him on charges of killing 148 Shiites and imprisoning and torturing others during a 1982 crackdown against the Shiite town of Dujail.