An angry Saddam Hussein has appeared in court saying he was being forced to attend after boycotting earlier sessions with his seven co-defendants.

The former Iraqi leader shouted "Down with Bush" and continued a stormy exchange with the new chief judge who he says is biased and wants removed.

Attorneys Also Absent From Court
By Jonathan Finer and K.I. Ibrahim - Washington Post Foreign Service - Friday, February 3, 2006

BAGHDAD, Feb. 2 -- Barred from entering the courtroom by a stern new judge tired of his antics, Saddam Hussein watched his own trial unfold on closed-circuit television Thursday from a courthouse chamber.

BAGHDAD, Feb. 3, 2006 - (CBS/AP) Two witnesses in the Saddam Hussein trial testified Thursday before the court adjourned for nearly two weeks, but the former Iraqi leader and his seven co-defendants had either boycotted the session or were barred from the court.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2006 The Associated Press BAGHDAD -Saddam Hussein was not present Wednesday at a new session of his trial, which his lawyers boycotted after demanding the removal of the chief judge, who they claim is biased against the former Iraqi leader.

January 29, 2006 - BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Saddam Hussein's trial collapsed into chaos shortly after resuming Sunday, with one defendant dragged out of court and the defense team walking out in protest. The former Iraqi leader was then escorted out after he shouted "down with the Americans" and refused his new court-appointed lawyers.

By Richard A. Oppel Jr. The New York Times

ERBIL, Iraq - Kamal Sayid Qadir had just returned here from Austria in late October when two trusted former students invited him for coffee at the Hotel Avista.

January 24, 2006 - by ROBERT F WORTH

BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 23 - A new judge was appointed Monday to take charge of the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants, the latest twist in a legal process that has been plagued by unruliness and accusations of political influence.

January 26, 2006

by RICHARD A. OPPEL ERBIL, Jan. 25 — Kamal Sayid Qadir had just returned here from Austria in late October when two trusted former students invited him for coffee at the Hotel Avista.

 By ROBERT F. WORTH, BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 23 - A new judge was appointed Monday to take charge of the trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants, the latest twist in a legal process that has been plagued by unruliness and accusations of political influence.

THE CONFLICT IN IRAQ - The alliance America helped build appears set to create a religious, federal state, opposite of the secular, united Iraq that Washington seeks.

By Borzou Daragahi and Alissa J. Rubin - Times Staff Writers - From the Los Angeles Times

BAGHDAD — January 22, 2006 - They are the orphans of Iraqi history, grown up and remaking the country's political and social order. But the formidable alliance between the long-marginalized Shiite Muslims and Kurds, a union nurtured by Washington, now threatens to undermine U.S. goals in the new Iraq.