The trial of toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants was adjourned on Monday until May 24.

Chief Judge Raouf Abdul-Rahman ordered the adjournment after a stormy beginning of Monday's session as Saddam's defense lawyer Bushra Khalil was forcibly pulled out of the court after she wrangled with Abdul-Rahman.

The court then heard the testimonies of defense witnesses, starting with Murshid Muhamed Jasim, who was a staff member in Saddam's Revolutionary Court.

He testified on behalf of Awad al-Bandar, who headed Saddam's court in the 1980s and was accused of sentencing 148 Shiite men in the northern Iraqi town of Dujail to death after a failed assassination attempt on Saddam's life there in 1982.

The second defense witness took the stand from behind a curtain and testified on behalf of Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikrit, Saddam's half brother and the then intelligence chief.

The third witness was Sabawi Ibrahim, another Saddam's half brother and a former presidential advisor at the time of the collapse of the Saddam regime.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants are facing crime charges against humanity including the Dujail killing.

If convicted, the former ruler might face death penalty.

Source: Xinhua