Saddam lawyers end boycott

DEFENCE lawyers in Saddam Hussein’s trial have ended a boycott and will be present for the next court session on Monday after security concerns were resolved, a US official said yesterday.

However, a source close to one of the defence teams based in Amman said details were still being worked out and said an offer had only been made to protect three lawyers’ families, not the whole team of lawyers, who number around a dozen.

The defence lawyers, backed by the Iraqi Bar Association, imposed a boycott after two members of the defence teams were shot and killed days after the trial began on October 19.