BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — The trial of Saddam Hussein resumed Wednesday after a lengthy delay but without the former president, who had declared the day before that he would not take part in an "unjust" court.

During testimony, the judges heard from a prosecution witness, who linked Saddam's half brother to the crimes all seven defendants are charged with.

Saddam's co-defendants and his lawyers were present in the courtroom when Chief Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin convened the session at 3 p.m., about four hours late.

Amin said the court would inform Saddam about the proceedings taking place during his absence.

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The judge then told defense lawyers the court would meet with them after the session to discuss security for the lawyers, which has become a major issue after two members of the defense team were killed.

At the end of Tuesday's session, an angry Saddam said he would boycott the next day's proceedings after complaining he and his co-defendants had been mistreated.

Saddam and the others are charged in the deaths of more than 140 Shiite Muslims in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail in 1982. Saddam accused Iran of ordering the attempt on his life.

During Wednesday's session, an unidentified male witness, testifying behind a beige curtain to conceal his identity, said he was arrested after the assassination attempt and taken to Baath Party headquarters, where he found people "screaming because of the beatings."

The witness said Saddam's half brother and co-defendant, Barazan Ibrahim, was present.

"When my turn came, the investigator asked me my name and he turned to Barazan and asked him: `What we shall do with him?' Barazan replied: `Take him. He might be useful.' We were almost dead because of the beatings."

But under questioning by the judge, the witness said he was blindfolded at the time and believed it was Ibrahim speaking because other prisoners told him so.

The witness said he was taken to Baghdad "in a closed, crowded van that had no windows."

"When we arrived at the building they asked us to stand along the wall," he said. "We were told to stand only on one foot, and we kept on this position for two hours before we were taken to cells with red walls. I was thirsty but the water was very hot."

After a few days, the witness said, he was moved to "Hall 63," where "we were kept handcuffed for five days with little food and very hot water. They used to take some persons and bring them back naked. The signs of torture were clear on their bodies."

Saddam's threat not to attend the Wednesday session came at the end of a daylong session in which five witnesses -- two women and three men -- related the events of a 1982 crackdown on Shiite Muslims.

The most dramatic testimony came from a woman who spoke from behind a curtain with her voice disguised. She told of beatings, torture and sexual humiliation at the hands of security agents when she was a teenager.

At the end of Tuesday's proceedings, the judges agreed over defense objections to meet again the following day. Saddam shouted: "I will not come to an unjust court! Go to hell!"

Saddam, dressed again in a dark suit and white shirt and clutching a Quran, complained that he and his seven co-defendants were tired and had been deprived of opportunities to shower, change clothes, exercise or smoke.

"This is terrorism," he declared.

Throughout the trial, which began Oct. 19, Saddam has repeatedly confronted the court and attempted to take control of the proceedings with dramatic rhetorical flourishes.

Five witnesses -- two women and three men -- testified Tuesday in the fourth session of the trial, all of them hidden from public view and with their voices disguised to protect their identities.

The most compelling testimony came from the woman identified only as "Witness A," who was 16 years old at the time of the crackdown. Her voice breaking with emotion, she told the court of beatings and electric shocks by the former president's agents.

"I was forced to take off my clothes, and he raised my legs up and tied my hands. He continued administering electric shocks and whipping me and telling me to speak," she said of Wadah al-Sheik, an Iraqi intelligence officer who died of cancer last month while in American custody.