Saddam claims he was 'beaten and tortured' by Americans in detention

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Saddam Hussein launched into an extended outburst at his trial Wednesday, alleging he had been beaten and tortured by his American captors while in detention after a witness testified that his agents had tortured people by ripping off their skin.

Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mousawi said he would investigate and that if American-led multinational forces were abusing the former Iraqi leader, he would be transferred to the custody of Iraqi troops.

"I want to say here, yes, we have been beaten by the Americans and we have been tortured," Saddam said, before gesturing to his seven co-defendants around him, "one by one."

After sitting quietly through several hours of testimony, Saddam said he'd been beaten "everywhere on my body. The marks are still there."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called it "highly ironic" that Saddam would accuse his jailers of mistreatment.

"I know of nothing that would substantiate such a claim," McCormack said. "Look, he's been given to grandstanding in this trial, but where the focus should be is on the testimony of those people who were victimized by the tyranny, the oppression and the violence of Saddam Hussein. That's what people should be listening to."

Saddam and his co-defendants are on trial in the deaths of more than 140 Shiites following a 1982 assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.

Standing in the fenced-in defendant's area, Saddam complained at length about the conditions of his detention, engaging in a debate with al-Mousawi. Some of the exchange was edited out of the televised feed of the trial, which later adjourned until Thursday.

Saddam also told the court that he knew the name of the person who betrayed his hiding place when U.S. forces found him in December 2003.

Earlier, Saddam was composed as a witness testified that his regime killed and tortured people by administering electric shocks and ripping off their skin after pouring molten plastic on it.

Two weeks ago, Saddam had called the court "unjust" and boycotted a session.

Ali Hassan Mohammed al-Haidari was the prosecution's first witness Wednesday, testifying about killings and torture in Dujail after the attempt to assassinate Saddam.

Al-Haidari, who was 14 in 1982, started off by quoting from the Quran, the Islamic holy book, about how evil would be defeated.