Iraqi TV reported late Wednesday that the incident occurred after Saddam was being questioned about his efforts to suppress the 1991 Shiite uprising in southern Iraq, which broke out after U.S.-led forces drove Iraq's army from Kuwait. The shrines of half brothers Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas in the Shiite holy city of Karbala were damaged by Saddam's forces as they crushed the uprising, killing tens of thousands of Shiites. "Saddam insulted Imam Hussein and his brother Imam Abbas provoking two of the court's clerks who were taking notes. They attacked the tyrant and punched him several times," the station said. It did not elaborate.
In July, Saddam's defense team issued a statement in Jordan saying that a man burst out from people who gathered in the court room and tried to hit Saddam as the ousted leader was leaving the courtroom at the end of a 45-minute hearing. "There was an exchange of blows between the man and the president," the statement said, also claiming that the judge overseeing the hearing did nothing to stop the assault.