Saddam Hussein's second court appearance on charges of murder and torture has been marked by mortality - murdered lawyers, a dead witness - and further insights into different aspects of the principal defendant's character.
First there was the indignant former Iraqi leader, arriving some eight minutes after being called and immediately upbraiding the judge in his own courtroom over his treatment by his American captors.
Apparently, before the session, Saddam Hussein had had his pens and paper taken away and handcuffs put on his wrists, and he wasn't happy about it.
He had also been made to walk up four flights of stairs to the courtroom because the lift was not working.
"How can a defendant defend himself, and I'm not just talking about Saddam Hussein, if they take even his pen and his papers?" he complained.
'Our country'
We have seen the emollient Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin in action before.
They [the US forces] are in our country. You are an Iraqi, you are sovereign and they are foreigners, invaders, and occupiers...
Saddam Hussein
"I will alert them to the problem," he said, talking about the US forces who have been holding Saddam Hussein since his capture two years ago.
"I don't want you to alert them! I want you to order them," said the defendant, beginning to raise his voice.
"They are in our country. You are an Iraqi, you are sovereign and they are foreigners, invaders, and occupiers...".
At which point, for the millions of Iraqis watching proceedings on TV, the video feed from the courtroom went silent and the picture showed the wall behind the judge.
The scales of justice are depicted in gold on the grey marble wall, underneath the Koranic inscription which adorns many Islamic courtrooms.
"If you judge between people, judge with fairness," it says.
Courtroom prayers
It was not always easy to tell what's going on in court in this session. Gone are the wide-angle shots that show the comings and goings of the cast, replaced only by close-ups of the protagonists.
Perhaps it was a political decision - perhaps it was a security one, because of the threat to any of the participants after they leave the heavily guarded courtroom.
However, the next time Saddam Hussein was on show, after the picture returned, it was entirely in contrast to his earlier combative demeanour.
The judge suggested that everyone present say prayers for the souls of the two defence lawyers who were killed by insurgents since the last session 40 days ago, Sadoun al-Janabi and Adel al-Zubeidi.
The camera then showed the principal defendant, fingers extended and head bowed, reverently in prayer.
It was a striking posture, particularly for a leader whose reputation for ruthlessness and disregard for human life was a hallmark of his regime.
Video evidence
After the swearing-in of new defence lawyers - including former US attorney general Ramsey Clark (whom the judge told to don court robes next time) - the first two items of evidence were put before the court.
Both were on video. The first, a short news clip from Britain's Channel Four news, concerned the Dujail massacre and Saddam Hussein's alleged role in it.
In the Channel Four film, the court was treated to another version of the main defendant - in military uniform, still with sneer of cold command, directing the response to an attempted assassination in the town in 1982.
A terrified inhabitant is held for questioning before the Iraqi leader, who says: "Separate them and interrogate them one-by-one."
Saddam Hussien, now visibly thinner as well as 23 years older, watched himself impassively, giving nothing away of his feelings.
Deceased witness
Before lunch there was just time for the testimony of the first witness against Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants.
Potentially, this was a moment of high drama. But it was undermined by the fact that the witness was seen on video, while the judge read out his testimony.
Wadah al-Sheikh, a former intelligence official, died recently from cancer. The video clip of the old man, taken just before his death, showed him fidgeting in his wheelchair in hospital.
"They rounded up 400 people from the town - women, children and old men. Saddam's personal bodyguards took part in killing people," the testimony read.
After the lunch interval, the judge adjourned proceedings at the request of one of the defendants who needed to get legal representation. The trial will resume on 5 December.
First there was the indignant former Iraqi leader, arriving some eight minutes after being called and immediately upbraiding the judge in his own courtroom over his treatment by his American captors.
Apparently, before the session, Saddam Hussein had had his pens and paper taken away and handcuffs put on his wrists, and he wasn't happy about it.
He had also been made to walk up four flights of stairs to the courtroom because the lift was not working.
"How can a defendant defend himself, and I'm not just talking about Saddam Hussein, if they take even his pen and his papers?" he complained.
'Our country'
We have seen the emollient Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin in action before.
They [the US forces] are in our country. You are an Iraqi, you are sovereign and they are foreigners, invaders, and occupiers...
Saddam Hussein
"I will alert them to the problem," he said, talking about the US forces who have been holding Saddam Hussein since his capture two years ago.
"I don't want you to alert them! I want you to order them," said the defendant, beginning to raise his voice.
"They are in our country. You are an Iraqi, you are sovereign and they are foreigners, invaders, and occupiers...".
At which point, for the millions of Iraqis watching proceedings on TV, the video feed from the courtroom went silent and the picture showed the wall behind the judge.
The scales of justice are depicted in gold on the grey marble wall, underneath the Koranic inscription which adorns many Islamic courtrooms.
"If you judge between people, judge with fairness," it says.
Courtroom prayers
It was not always easy to tell what's going on in court in this session. Gone are the wide-angle shots that show the comings and goings of the cast, replaced only by close-ups of the protagonists.
Perhaps it was a political decision - perhaps it was a security one, because of the threat to any of the participants after they leave the heavily guarded courtroom.
However, the next time Saddam Hussein was on show, after the picture returned, it was entirely in contrast to his earlier combative demeanour.
The judge suggested that everyone present say prayers for the souls of the two defence lawyers who were killed by insurgents since the last session 40 days ago, Sadoun al-Janabi and Adel al-Zubeidi.
The camera then showed the principal defendant, fingers extended and head bowed, reverently in prayer.
It was a striking posture, particularly for a leader whose reputation for ruthlessness and disregard for human life was a hallmark of his regime.
Video evidence
After the swearing-in of new defence lawyers - including former US attorney general Ramsey Clark (whom the judge told to don court robes next time) - the first two items of evidence were put before the court.
Both were on video. The first, a short news clip from Britain's Channel Four news, concerned the Dujail massacre and Saddam Hussein's alleged role in it.
In the Channel Four film, the court was treated to another version of the main defendant - in military uniform, still with sneer of cold command, directing the response to an attempted assassination in the town in 1982.
A terrified inhabitant is held for questioning before the Iraqi leader, who says: "Separate them and interrogate them one-by-one."
Saddam Hussien, now visibly thinner as well as 23 years older, watched himself impassively, giving nothing away of his feelings.
Deceased witness
Before lunch there was just time for the testimony of the first witness against Saddam Hussein and his seven co-defendants.
Potentially, this was a moment of high drama. But it was undermined by the fact that the witness was seen on video, while the judge read out his testimony.
Wadah al-Sheikh, a former intelligence official, died recently from cancer. The video clip of the old man, taken just before his death, showed him fidgeting in his wheelchair in hospital.
"They rounded up 400 people from the town - women, children and old men. Saddam's personal bodyguards took part in killing people," the testimony read.
After the lunch interval, the judge adjourned proceedings at the request of one of the defendants who needed to get legal representation. The trial will resume on 5 December.