Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ended his hunger strike a week ago after foregoing food for 11 days, his lead lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi told AFP. "I met with my client for seven hours on Sunday. At our request he had earlier ended the hunger strike he had been on for 11 days and he has lost four to five kilos (about 10 pounds)," Dulaimi said.
"He is doing okay."
Dulaimi said he and his client discussed "all aspects of the trial" at the meeting on Sunday.
On February 14, Saddam had told the court trying him on charges of crimes against humanity that he and his seven co-defendants had launched a hunger strike.
"We have been on a hunger strike for three days," Saddam said at the 12th hearing of the trouble-plagued trial which opened in October.
Saddam's fellow defendant and half brother Barzan al-Tikriti said he had been on hunger strike for two days. After a raucous session, the trial was adjourned until February 28.
It was not known whether Tikriti had also ended his hunger strike.
Since it opened, the trial has been plagued by trouble with two defence lawyers being shot dead, a chief judge resigning and boycotts by both lawyers and defendants.
Dulaimi, who has himself boycotted proceedings and been away from the court for a month, has returned from Amman to Baghdad and was considering with other members of the defence team whether to attend Tuesday's hearing.
He said he had asked the tribunal to suspend Tuesday's hearing "because of the security situation in the country and because of procedural questions".
"We explained to the court that Arab and foreign lawyers on the defence team had not yet completed all the paperwork needed to take part in the trial," Dulaimi said.
The court's leading judge "has promised to meet all our just requests and has asked us to attend the hearing on February 28 to settle all the problems," he said.
"We're looking at this and a decision will be taken this evening," he added.
Saddam and his co-defendants risk the death penalty for the killing of more than 140 men from the town of Dujail in 1982.
