Saddam expelled from court

A new judge expelled a defiant Saddam Hussein from his genocide trial yesterday and defence lawyers stormed off in protest after the government sacked the chief judge, throwing the month-old case into turmoil.

The Iraqi government removed judge Abdullah al-Amiri overnight saying he had abandoned his neutrality for stating last week that Saddam was "not a dictator". International legal groups and the UN said it eroded the court's legitimacy.

"Take him out of the courtroom," the new judge, Mohammed al-Ureybi, told guards after Saddam launched a tirade and refused to sit down. Saddam accused the new judge of being the son of a government spy before the US-led invasion in 2003.

"Your father was a security agent!" Saddam said. "I knew him. He had an operation here," he added, gesturing at his own abdomen.

"I challenge you to prove that to the public," the judge said dismissively as Saddam was being escorted out.

The US-backed tribunal is trying Saddam, his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, known as "Chemical Ali", and five others for war crimes and crimes against humanity for their role in the 1988 Anfal campaign against Kurds. Saddam and Majeed also face the graver charge of genocide. All could be hanged if convicted.