Saddam Hussein and his seven co-accused are to start a hunger strike when their trial resumes on Monday, their defense team said on Sunday, citing sources inside the detention centre where the eight are being held. "Saddam and his followers will start a hunger strike from tomorrow, protesting the illegitimate procedures and bad treatment by the court," Khakis al-Aubeidi, a leading member of Saddam's defense team, told Reuters. Saddam and some of his former top aides have not attended the last two court sessions, having followed the lead of their defense counsel who walked out of court on Jan. 29. Three minor Baath party officials were then barred from the last session on Feb. 2 for "causing chaos" outside the courtroom. The trial has been beset by delays, postponements and courtroom chaos since it began in October. The lawyers staged the walkout after new chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman ejected a member of their team and one of the defendants for refusing to be quiet.
