Saddam defence team to press on with court boycott

Saddam Hussein

BAGHDAD - Lawyers for Saddam Hussein and his co-accused will boycott their trial until their demands for a fair trial and an inquiry into the killings of defence lawyers are met, a defence team member said today.

"We will not return to court until our demands are implemented," said the lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous.

Saddam was fed through a tube on Monday after 16 days of a hunger strike that had created further disarray in a trial that has been marred by the killings of three defence lawyers, the resignation of the first chief judge and court tirades.

The entire defence team for the ousted Iraqi president and his co-defendants did not turn up for yesterday's session.

They are demanding a fair trial and an investigation into the deaths of the lawyers, including one Saddam's senior lawyers who was shot dead and dumped in a square.

The trial is approaching its conclusion, with defence lawyers and their clients making final arguments.

Saddam and seven co-accused face charges of crimes against humanity in connection with the killings of 148 Shi'ites after an attempt on his life in the town of Dujail in 1982.

They could be sentenced to death by hanging if found guilty. Saddam also faces a second trial in August on charges of genocide against Iraq's ethnic Kurds in the late 1980s.

Court spokesman Raed Juhi said Saddam was fit for trial.

"He can take the stand in the dock in a full physical and mental state," he said.

Chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi accused Saddam of staging the hunger strike to disrupt the proceedings and gain the attention of the media.

"Saddam is in good condition and he accepted to be fed by a tube. He will be able to attend court the moment his turn comes to read his final defence," Moussawi told Reuters.

"Saddam is trying to evade the whole trial."

His lawyers say they have no idea what state of health he is in, saying there is an information blackout.

The US military said on Monday Saddam was receiving medical care but was not in a critical condition.

Three others are thought to be taking part in the hunger strike; his half-brother Barzan al-Tikriti, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the head of the Revolutionary Court under Saddam.

Bandar will appear in court tomorrow for his closing argument, said Moussawi.

Moussawi said Saddam had no choice but to appear in court if he tries to boycott the final sessions, a move that could undermine efforts to show the trial was a success.

"The court, according to the law, will bring him by force as it has done before," he said.

- REUTERS