BAGHDAD, May 14: The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants for crimes against humanity resumes on Monday with the presentation of the first defence witnesses.

Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mussawi told AFP it would be for the court to decide how many of the expected 60 defence witnesses would be heard in the new session.

“It is up to authorities to decide if all the witnesses will be heard in this session,” Mussawi said.

Saddam and his co-defendants, including his half brother and former head of intelligence Barzan al-Tikriti and former vice-president Taha Yassin Ramadan, are on trial for their lives for the murder of 148 Shias from the village of Dujail in the mid-1980s.

Under the Iraqi legal system, the court has yet to read specific charges against the defendants, expected soon in light of the past few months of testimony.

At the end of a previous session, Saddam’s lead attorney, Khalil al-Dulaimi submitted a list of witnesses for the defence that had been kept secret for their protection.

The coming session will be the 24th since the trial began on October 19, and a US official close to the proceedings said it was expected to finish by mid-summer.

“I expect a verdict by the end of July or early August,” the official told reporters after the last session.

“I believe the defence will present its case now and the court will take a recess for about a month,” ahead of the July or August verdict, he added.

The last few sessions have seen the presentation of documentary evidence linking the defendants to the killings, including audio recordings and signatures on orders for executions.—AFP