A meticulous paper trail alleged to link Saddam Hussein to the execution by hanging of 148 Iraqis was shown to a Baghdad court today as his trial resumed for a brief but unusually well-mannered session.

Saddam, it was announced, has ended a hunger strike for health reasons. Lawyers representing the former dictator and his seven co-defendants have given up a boycott of the proceedings.

In what was easily the most orderly hearing since the turbulent trial began in October, the eight accused took their seats in near silence. No-one was dressed in their pyjamas. No-one spouted vitriolic abuse at the judge.

Prosecutors used the rare opportunity for progress to begin outlining the documents which they allege connect Saddam and members of his inner circle to the murder of 148 Shia Muslims in the village of Dujail, in revenge for an assassination attempt in 1982.

Jaafar al-Moussawi, the leading prosecutor, told the court that the regime's detailed record-keeping had preserved evidence proving that Saddam and his aides sanctioned the massacre.

One of the documents was a memo from the Revolutionary Court, dated June 14, 1984, announcing that 148 suspects had been sentenced to death by hanging, with a list of names. Mr al-Moussawi said the signature on the memo was that of the court’s head, Awad al-Bandar, one of the accused.

A document dated two days later was from the president, approving all 148 sentences. The paper was signed by Saddam, Mr al-Moussawi said, displaying the document with the signature on a screen in the court room.

He said that the sentences were passed after an imaginary trial: "None of the defendants were brought to court. Their statements were never recorded."

The prosecution then displayed a document dated March 1985, said to be signed by Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Saddam's half-brother, who was head of the Mukhabarat intelligence agency at the time, ordering the executions to be carried out.

Another document from the Revolutionary Court, dated March 23, 1985, confirmed that 96 executions took place.

Another 46 people were "liquidated during interrogations," a later Mukharabat document stated. It also said four people were executed by mistake, even though their names were not on list of those sentenced - a man named Mahdi Abdel-Amir, two of his sons and his brother.

The presentation of documentary evidence is seen as a considerable step forward in the prosecution case, many of whose key witnesses have refused to testify.

Raouf Abdel-Rahman, the chief judge, opened today's session by announcing that the five-judge panel had rejected a defence request that he and the chief prosecutor be removed. He has been accused of bias following reports that members of his family died in a Saddam-era gas attack on his hometown.

Khaled al-Dulaimi, Saddam's leading defence lawyer, said he would appeal and called for an immediate halt to proceedings. The judge - maintaining his no-nonsense reputation - refused and Mr al-Dulaimi and his colleague Khamis al-Obeidi walked out to prepare an appeal.

The other six members of the defence team remained, in contrast to their earlier boycott, although the session - played out against a backdrop of increasing sectarian violence across Iraq - was adjourned after around two hours until tomorrow.

Saddam and the seven co-defendants face possible death by hanging if convicted.

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