The new chief judge in the case, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, told the defense team in opening remarks he would not allow political statements: ?This court is not a place for political speeches.?

He is under pressure to deal firmly with Saddam after his predecessor, who resigned two weeks ago, was accused by the government of being too soft on the former Iraqi leader and allowing his courtroom tirades to go unchecked. The trial was adjourned until wednesday.

Saddam and seven co-accused are on trial for crimes against humanity, charged with killing 148 men from the Shi?ite town of Dujail after a failed bid to assassinate him there in 1982.

Within minutes of the trial resuming, Abdel-Rahman ejected Saddam?s former intelligence chief, Barzan al-Tikriti, after he refused to keep quiet and called the trial ?a daughter of a whore?. Barzan was dragged out by court guards.

The defense team protested that they were being treated unfairly and threatened to leave.?If you leave then you can?t come back for future sessions,? Abdel-Rahman told them.

Saddam?s chief lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said the US-sponsored court was illegal and ?run by the Americans?. He and his colleagues then left the courtroom.

When some of the defendants stood up to leave as well, Abdel-Rahman told security guards to sit them down.

?I want to leave,? Saddam, dressed in a dark suit and collared shirt, told the judge.

?Then leave,? said Abdel-Rahman.

?It is a tragedy. I led you for 35 years. How can you lead me out of court?? Saddam asked.

?You wanted to leave,? the judge replied shortly, after which Saddam left. He was followed by his former vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan.

Order restored

Order was later restored to the court, which began to hear a female witness, who testified from behind a curtain to protect her identity. The trial resumed without the defense team, Saddam or any of the high-profile defendants present.

The court has been in turmoil since Kurdish chief judge Rizgar Amin resigned complaining of pressure from the Shi?ite-led government to speed up the process and crack down on Saddam and some of his co-accused, whose outbursts have dominated proceedings thus far.

The trial has also been marred by numerous delays since getting under way last October, two members of the defense team have been murdered, and Amin?s original replacement was accused last week of being a former member of Saddam?s Baath party.

Some human rights groups have criticized the former US occupation authority?s decision to try Saddam and his aides in Iraq rather than in an international court. They say subsequent events have reinforced their view that sectarian and ethnic conflict make a fair trial in Baghdad hard to achieve.

Former colleagues in the northern Kurdish city of Arbil, where Abdel Rahman was chief judge of the appeal court, said he would be a fair and firm judge.

?Raouf was a capable judge and politically independent, and I expect he?ll control the court better than Amin,? Muhammad Mawlud, a judge in Arbil appeal court said.

Abdel Rahman hails from Halabja, where 5 000 people died in a gas attack during an offensive by Iraqi forces in 1988, a case that will be the focus of a likely future trial for genocide.

Yesterday?s session was the eighth since the trial began on October 19. It was due to have resumed last Tuesday but was postponed for five days.

Chief prosecutor Ja?afar Moussawi said this week?s trial would be interrupted for the start of Muharram, the start of the Islamic new year, which is marked by a public holiday.

Mussab AL-KHAIRALLA