Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein told court officers he and three of his co-defendants have begun a hunger strike to protest the presiding judge in his trial.
Saddam claims he has not eaten in three days while Ibrahim Barzan, his former intelligence chief, says he has not had any food in two days. American sources who have the ex-strongman in custody have not confirmed Saddam's claim of refusing food.
Addressing presiding judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman, Saddam said, 'For three days we have been holding a hunger strike protesting against your way of treating us — against you and your masters.'
Abdel-Rahman has attempted to stop Saddam's frequent outbursts and protestations against the judges and the authority of the court to try him.
Court officials seemed to be taking Saddam's latest ploy in stride. Investigative judge Raid Juhi commented, 'This is an administrative problem that the court is working to verify and it will work also to solve it... with the responsible parties in the custodial authorities,' he told reporters. 'But, as you could see, the defendants are in good health,' he added.
The defendants have refused to attend court since their attorneys walked out, claiming Abdel-Rahman is biased against Saddam. The judge appointed new lawyers for the defendants but they refused to accept them. Monday, Abdel-Rahman ordered the defendants back into the courtroom against their will. Ibrahim was literally dragged into court by guards while wearing nothing but long underwear.
Saddam and his co-defendants are on trial for crimes against humanity stemming from a 1982 incident in the city of Dujail. More than 140 people were killed and many more tortured shortly after an unsuccessful coup attempt against Saddam's regime.
Today, a witness identified Saddam's signature on an order offering six employees a reward for arresting people in Dujail.
Ibrahim later denied any involvement in the Dujail massacre, claiming another agency was in charge of the incident. 'I released all the detainees inside the hall — more than 80 persons. I swear to God I said goodbye to them one by one and apologized,' he said.
Previous witnesses say they saw Ibrahim personally torture people during the 1982 Dujail incident.
If convicted, Saddam and his co-defendants could face the death penalty.
