Barzan Ibrahim, a former intelligence chief, was the only one of the eight defendants in court when the trial resumed after a two-week break to continue hearing final summations.

After summations, the five-judge panel will adjourn to consider a verdict, which could include death by hanging for Saddam and two co-defendants, including Barzan.

Saddam, 69, remained hospitalized, taking nutrition through a feeding tube, court spokesman Raid Juhi said. The tube was inserted July 23, the 17th day of Saddam's hunger strike.

Saddam and the seven others have been on trial since Oct. 19 for the deaths of Shiite Muslims in a crackdown on the town of Dujail, which was launched after an assassination attempt against Saddam in 1982.

Barzan had also been refusing food since July 7 to demand better security for defense lawyers, who have boycotted the hearings since the June killing of Khamis al-Obeidi, the third member of the defense team slain since the trial began.

Despite more than two weeks without food, Barzan appeared no less combative than in previous sessions, when he was sometimes restrained by guards for rowdy behavior in court.

He told the chief judge, Raouf Abdel-Rahman, that he would not accept a court-appointed attorney and asked for more time to find another lawyer or to persuade the defense team to return.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 29, 2006
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