Tariq Aziz, one of Saddam Hussein's best-known lieutenants, accused the Shiite-led government of seeking revenge during a trial Tuesday over the executions of dozens of Baghdad merchants in 1992.

Aziz told an Iraqi court, which resumed hearing the case against him and seven co-defendants, that he was proud of being a member of Saddam's Sunni-dominated Baath party and serving under the former dictator.

But chief prosecutor Adnan Ali said Aziz and his co-defendants, who include Saddam's ailing cousin known as "Chemical Ali," were responsible for the merchants' deaths and urged the court "to issue the suitable punishment that will ease the hearts of widows and oppressed ones."

Aziz, the only Christian in Saddam's mostly Sunni Muslim regime, became internationally known as the dictator's defender and a fierce American critic after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent 1991 Gulf War.

He was later promoted to deputy prime minister and often represented Iraq at the United Nations and other international forums. Just weeks before the U.S.-led invasion, Aziz met with the late Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in a bid to head off the conflict.

The trial deals with the execution of 42 merchants accused by Saddam's government of being behind a sharp increase in food prices when the country was under strict U.N. sanctions.

The merchants were rounded up over two days in July 1992 from Baghdad's wholesale markets and charged with manipulating food supplies to drive up prices at a time when many Iraqis were suffering economically. All 42 were executed hours later after a quick trial.

The first witness, Abdul-Amir Jabbar Nadir, spoke of his father and brother, who traded in foodstuffs at Baghdad's popular Jamila market. They were killed after they were seized on July 24, 1992, during the roundup.

"The security forces first tied the merchants to the electricity posts, saying they were greedy merchants, spit on them and then put them all of them on a minibus," Nadir said. "There were workers, clerks and other employees among them _ not all of them were merchants."

He accused two other defendants _ Saddam's half brothers former Interior Minister Watban Ibrahim al-Hassan and director of public security Sabawi Ibrahim _ of spearheading the arrests and executions. Nadir also said he was demanding $2 million for the loss of goods.

In outlining the case, Ali said the eight men were charged with crimes against humanity, which means they could be sentenced to death if convicted. Continued...