The first witness at Saddam Hussein's trial, a woman, broke down in tears today as she described how she was abused and tortured.
The woman, identified only as 'Witness A' and speaking from behind a curtain in fear for her life, said she had been beaten with cables and given electric shocks after his guards forced her to strip.
She said she had been moved from one prison to another over four years during Saddam's rule, and had spent a bitter winter at the notorious Abu Ghraib jail in western Baghdad.
She told how she had envied animals their freedom while she was held with hundreds of others rounded up after an attempt on the former President's life in the Shi'ite village of Dujail in 1982.
A second witness, an elderly woman named only as 'Witness B', told the court that Saddam Hussein's men had taken her away, along with her husband, five daughters and two sons.
Another witness said he was taken from Dujail the day after the attempt on the former President's life, even though he was only 11.
However, when cross-examined by a defence lawyer, he acknowledged he had not seen the former president kill anyone.
'Did you see (Saddam) commit crimes against humanity in front of your eyes,' defence lawyer Najeeb al-Nuaimi asked.
'No', the witness replied
Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants are accused of crimes against humanity in relation to the deaths of 148 men in Dujail, and face possible execution.
He sat largely impassively through her testimony.
Yesterday, the trial was suspended for more than an hour because of a walkout by defence lawyers disputing the legitimacy of the court.
