'You were not a dictator,' trial judge tells Saddam

BAGHDAD: The chief judge trying Iraqi ex-president Saddam Hussein on charges of genocide on Thursday said that the deposed leader was not a "dictator."       

The rather friendly exchange came after a Kurdish witness on Thursday told the court how he met Saddam to question him on the whereabouts of his family members who allegedly were killed in the Anfal attack of 1987-1988.    

Seated in the dock, Saddam asked: "Why did you try to meet me when you knew I was a dictator?"        

The judge, Abdullah al-Ameri, then interjected.   

"You were not a dictator," he said to Saddam, and suggested that it was the people close to him who had made him look like a dictator.     

Following this Saddam said to the judge "Thank you."      

On Wednesday the prosecutor in the trial, Munqith al-Faroon, demanded the resignation of the judge, saying he was lenient towards defendants and even allowed them to threaten witnesses and their lawyers.