Baghdad, Iraq ? A female witness, testifying Wednesday at Saddam Hussein’s trial, said she was stripped naked in prison, hung by her feet and kicked in the chest by the former Iraqi leader’s half brother.

The woman provided some of the most gripping testimony so far in the trial, which went ahead despite a boycott by Saddam and four other defendants, who demanded the removal of the chief judge.

The woman described being stripped, hung by her hands, beaten and given electric shocks.

Then, she told the court, Barzan Ibrahim – Saddam’s half brother and the top co-defendant in the trial – told guards to instead hang her from her feet, then he kicked her three times.

The woman was one of five witnesses who took the stand during Wednesday’s 4 1/2-hour session.

Chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman, who took over last week, pressed ahead with the proceedings Wednesday at a rapid pace, taking advantage of the calm in a courtroom that has been plagued by shouting matches, scuffles and protests since the trial began Oct. 19.

But the boycott by five of the case’s eight defendants and their defense team was likely to further undermine the trial, which has been cast as a key plank in Iraq’s transition from dictatorship to democratic rule.