Saddam Hussein was ejected from his genocide trial for a third consecutive time today as chaos reigned following the sacking of the chief judge last week.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sits in the court during his trial in Baghdad
International legal rights groups have warned that the sacking of the former chief judge, removed by the government last week for saying Saddam was "not a dictator" could hurt the historic trial's credibility.
New chief judge Mohammed al-Ureybi, who had thrown Saddam out of the two previous hearings he has chaired in the past week, opened tosday's hearing with a lecture to Saddam to behave.
He let him read a 20-minute statement, with microphones off so those in the glass-enclosed press gallery could not hear.
But after listening to two Kurdish witnesses, Saddam again began to argue and the judge lost his patience.
"You are a defendant and I'm a judge," Mr Ureybi said. "Shut up, no-one talk ... The court has decided to eject Saddam Hussein from court."
Chief judge Mohammed al-Ureybi
As Saddam left, smiling, his six co-defendants - top commanders under Saddam - stood and tried to follow him out, demanding they leave too. The judge shouted back: "Get Saddam out and put the others back in their seats."
Several co-defendants started shouting and pointing fingers at the judge. Mr Ureybi ejected one, former defence minister Sultan Hashim, before ordering a recess.
When the hearing resumed, none of the defendants was present. No explanation was given for their absence.
Unusually, the sound was left on for television broadcasts, allowing all Iraqis to watch and listen during several minutes of courtroom pandemonium.
The defence lawyers have been boycotting the trial since the new chief judge took over last week, so the defendants were represented only by court-appointed back-up lawyers.
Although Saddam was also expelled from the courtroom during the last two hearings, today was the first time that the genocide trial proceeded without any of the defendants in court.
Saddam and the other six could face hanging over the deaths of an estimated 180,000 Kurdish villagers in 1988, including thousands killed by poison gas. He and his cousin Ali Hassan al-Majid - dubbed "Chemical Ali" by Iraqis - face genocide charges. Five others face charges of mass murder and crimes against humanity.
International legal rights groups have said the sacking of the judge could hurt the legitimacy of the trial.