Saddam Hussein is expected to show up when his trial reconvenes tomorrow, two weeks after he boycotted the last session and vowed not to appear before an "unjust" court, the chief prosecutor and defence lawyers said today.
It will be Saddam's first court appearance after Iraqis swarmed to the polls on December 15th to elect the country's first full-term parliament since his downfall.
"Saddam and his defence team will be there," said chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mousawi.
Two of Saddam's lawyers also said the former president was expected to appear in court.
Five prosecution witnesses are ready to take the stand, al-Mousawi said, but it would be up to the court to decided whether to hear all of them.
It was unclear how many more prosecution witnesses, if any, would follow.
"We are very prepared for the resumption of the trial," al-Mousawi said.
"There is evidence and there are documents with Saddam's signature on them," he said.
"When it's time for the prosecution to make its case, there will be a surprise."
He did not elaborate or provide any further details.
Saddam and seven co-defendants are on trial over the deaths of more than 140 Shiite Muslims following a 1982 assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.
Saddam refused to attend the last session, held on December 7th. One day before, Saddam, in an outburst, had shouted: "I will not come to an unjust court! Go to hell!"
During previous sessions, Saddam has been defiant and combative at times, often trying to dominate the courtroom.
He and his half brother - Barazan Ibrahim, who was head of the Iraqi intelligence during the Dujail incident - have used the procedures to protest their own conditions in detention.
The court has so far heard nine witnesses, who often gave emotional testimonies of random arrests, hunger and beatings while in custody and torture in detention.
AP