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Hunger strike leads to hospital

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 24, 2006

BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein was hospitalized Sunday and fed with a tube on the 17th day of a hunger strike to ensure he was healthy enough to continue with his trial, the chief prosecutor said. The procedure came as the ex-leader's troubled trial nears a verdict that could lead to his hanging.

Prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi said he learned that Hussein's health had become "unstable because of the hunger strike" during a visit to the U.S.-run prison where the former ruler and his seven fellow defendants are held.

"We took him to the hospital, and he is being currently fed by a tube," Moussawi told the Associated Press without elaboration.

Moussawi said the feeding tube had stabilized Hussein's health and that the former president would appear in court as scheduled this week. Hussein was not scheduled to appear today when the trial resumes after a two-week break, because other defendants are to give their final summations.

It appeared that Moussawi had become concerned over the impact of televised pictures of a frail, weakened Hussein appearing in court and decided to check on the ex-president himself since the Americans were continuing to insist that a 69-year-old man's health was unaffected despite two weeks without food.

The hunger strike was launched to demand better security for the defense team. Three of them have been assassinated since the trial began, most recently Khamis al-Obeidi, who was abducted and slain June 21.

Hussein and the seven others have been on trial since Oct. 19 for the deaths of Shiite Muslims after a crackdown in the town of Dujail, which was launched after an assassination attempt there in 1982. They could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Hussein's lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi told the Associated Press that Hussein was "in high spirits and his health very good" despite the hunger strike.

A spokesman for the U.S. detention command would not say whether Hussein had been hospitalized but said he was under medical supervision and was voluntarily taking nutrients through a feeding tube.

"He's continuing to refuse meals," Lt. Col. Keir-Kevin Curry said. "He remains in coalition care and custody, and we're providing appropriate medical care."

The verdict is expected by mid August. Hussein is also due to stand trial Aug. 21 for a crackdown against the Kurds in the 1980s during which an estimated 100,000 Kurds were killed.

[Last modified July 24, 2006, 01:29:42]