Trial proceeds despite Saddam's absence

BAGHDAD, Iraq — A female witness, testifying Wednesday at Saddam Hussein's trial, said she was stripped naked in prison, hung by her feet and kicked in the chest by the former Iraqi leader's half brother.

The woman provided some of the most gripping testimony so far in the trial, which went ahead despite a boycott by Saddam and four other defendants, who demanded the removal of the chief judge.

Weeping several times during her testimony, the woman described being stripped naked, hung by her hands, beaten and given electric shocks.

Then, she told the court, Barzan Ibrahim — Saddam's half brother and the top co-defendant in the trial — told guards to instead hang her from her feet, then he kicked her three times in the chest.

"I told him (Ibrahim), 'For God's sake, I'm a woman. Master, I have nothing to confess. Why are you doing this to me?' " said the woman, who spoke from behind a beige curtain to protect her identity.

The woman was one of five witnesses who took the stand during Wednesday's 4 1/2-hour session — all of whom were hidden behind the curtain.

Meanwhile, a bomb planted near a tea stand killed eight men waiting for day labor in a largely Shiite area of Baghdad on Wednesday, and six other people died in violence across the country. A Shiite politician tapped as a possible prime minister predicted a new government would be in place by mid-March.

The morning attack on the impoverished laborers in the capital's New Baghdad area appeared aimed at further inflaming sectarian tensions in this war-ravaged country, where Shiites trade accusations with Sunni Arabs of reprisal killings and kidnappings.

Police said at least eight men were killed and more than 50 wounded in the bombing. Eyewitnesses said a man put down a bag of explosives that detonated near a tea cart.

Iraq's most powerful politicians met to thrash out the formation of the next government. The United States wants the dominant Shiites and Kurds to welcome Sunni Arabs into the government in hopes this would take the steam out of the insurgency, which draws most of its support from the Sunni community.

Vice President Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the biggest Shiite party's candidate for prime minister, said he expected the government to begin operating in mid-March, following final certification of results from the Dec. 15 parliamentary election and the seating of the legislature.