[JURIST] Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] was again thrown out of court during his trial on genocide charges [BBC timeline] Tuesday after he tried to speak into the microphone during court proceedings. Chief Judge Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa immediately turned off the microphone and ordered bailiffs to remove Hussein from the courtroom. Hussein has been thrown out of the genocide trial on three prior occasions [JURIST report] for speaking over witnesses and refusing to observe courtroom discipline [JURIST report]. Defense lawyers for Hussein and his co-defendants are continuing their boycott of the trial [JURIST report] to protest Khalifa's appointment as chief judge, replacing former Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri.

In the current trial, Hussein faces genocide charges [JURIST report] for the 1988 deaths of 180,000 Kurdish villagers in the so-called "Anfal" campaign [HRW backgrounder]. He is also awaiting a verdict in the separate Dujail crimes against humanity case [JURIST report]. The verdict in the Dujail case was originally expected to be announced on October 16 [JURIST report], but has since been delayed [JURIST report] to give judges more time to review evidence. AP has more.