Saddam claims Americans beat him in detention

&to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/12132_hussein.html' target=_blank>Saddam Hussein accused his American captors of torturing him, claiming at his trial Wednesday that he had been beaten "everywhere on my body." A Shiite witness testified that the former Iraqi leader's agents had tortured people by ripping off their skin.

The trial's chief prosecutor said that if American-led multinational forces had abused Saddam, he would be transferred into the custody of Iraqi troops. The prosecutor, Jaafar al-Mousawi, said he would investigate.

"I want to say here, yes, we have been beaten by the Americans and we have been tortured," Saddam responded, before gesturing toward his seven co-defendants, "one by one."

Launching into an extended outburst after sitting quietly through several hours of testimony, Saddam said he'd been beaten "everywhere on my body. The marks are still there."

During the outburst, Saddam stood in the fenced-in defendant's area and occasionally jabbed his finger toward the judge and prosecutor. He refuted witness statements and complained at length about the conditions of his detention, engaging in a debate with al-Mousawi. Some of the exchange was edited out of the televised feed.