Iraqi court denies claims Saddam assaulted during interrogation News
Iraqi court denies claims Saddam assaulted during interrogation

[JURIST] Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website] officials Thursday denied reports that Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] was attacked and punched several times [BBC report] by two court clerks after he insulted two Shiite saints during an interrogation session. Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mousawi said "no one in the court attacked Saddam or punished him and we will never allow anyone in the court to harm any of the defendants, whether it is Saddam or someone else." Mousawi added that he was not aware that Saddam had even cursed the two saints – Imam Hussein and his brother Imam Abbas – which was reported by the state-run al-Iraqiya TV [media website] earlier this week, but it was not reported when the incident allegedly occurred. Mousawi said the only incident he was aware of occurred two months ago when two court guards escorted Saddam from the court room after he began making political statements in front of a camera in the room. AP has more.