WRAP Saddam trial resumes, adds witness, identity hidden from court

Описание: (6 Dec 2005)

1. Wide of exterior of courtroom
2. Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin
3. Pan to judges
4. Mid shot of Amin
5. Defendant Awad Hamad al Bandar
6. Saddam Hussein, former Iraqi leader
7. Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin
8. Cutaway
9. Wide of judge: UPSOUND: (Arabic) distorted voice of witness A:
"In the name of Allah, the most gracious and merciful, when Ali's flag is up all other flags they are down. And peace and blessing be upon Mohammed (the Prophet), peace and blessing be upon Mohammed, peace and blessing be upon Mohammed. I thank the court and I'm thanking the audience and everyone else for your efforts."
10. Mid shot of defendant Awad Hamad al Bandar (UPSOUND continues)
11. Cutaway (UPSOUND continues)
12. Wide of defendants
13. Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin
14. Mid shot of defendants
15. Mid shot of Amin
16. Mid shot of Saddam
17. Mid shot of Amin

STORYLINE:

A woman whose identity will be kept secret - and voice disguised - took the stand in the trial of Saddam Hussein on Tuesday in Baghdad's heavily guarded Green Zone.

But the session had to be adjourned due to technical problems with voice-masking equipment.

The witness began speaking as the fourth session of the trial got underway, but defence lawyers complained they could not understand her scrambled voice.

Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin adjourned the session so technicians could try to fix the equipment.

For a few moments the court could hear the woman's unscrambled voice.

She was sobbing as she told of having Saddam's security agents ordering her "to take off my clothes in a room".

Amin had explained to the court that defence attorneys would be told the identity of the witness but they must not pass the information to anyone outside the tribunal.

He said she would be referred to publicly as "Witness A."

Witnesses have the option of not having their identities revealed as a security measure to protect them against reprisals by Saddam loyalists.

The first two witnesses - both males who took the stand on Monday - allowed their names to be announced and their pictures to be transmitted around the world.

The Tuesday hearing began after a dramatic, often chaotic day when for the first time, Shiite victims of a 1982 crackdown confronted the former leader and his lieutenants.

They are on trial for the killing of more than 140 Shiites in the town of Dujail north of Baghdad and could be executed by hanging if convicted.

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