IRAQ: More than 50 senior figures from Saddam Hussein's former regime have begun a hunger strike in their US military jail in Baghdad, according to an Iraqi lawyer.
The group includes Tariq Aziz, the former deputy prime minister, and Taha Yassin Ramadan, a former vice-president, according to the lawyer, Mr Badie Arief Izzat. Saddam, who is being kept in solitary confinement in a separate jail, is not involved in the protest.
However, the US military said some detainees were still eating snacks. "It appears that some detainees have turned back some meals," said Lieut Col Barry Johnson, spokesman for detention operations. "I'm told all have been at least snacking during the day." He said Saddam "continued to take meals and has had no change in his routine".
Mr Izzat, who represents Aziz, said the protest began on Saturday morning. He was told about it by a fellow lawyer who met Taha Yassin Ramadan in the jail yesterday.
The strike was in protest at what the prisoners said was bad treatment and enforced solitary confinement, he said. They were also opposed to being handed over to the Iraqi government for trial. "Instead they want a trial in an international court."