Saddam lawyers say they will only end boycott of trial when judge is removed

&to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/368/12132_hussein.html' target=_blank>Saddam Hussein's defense lawyers demand that the new chief judge be removed before they will end their boycott of the trial, which resumes Wednesday after a stormy session in which the ex-president was tossed out.

Khalil al-Dulaimi and Khamis al-Obeidi said they have written to the Iraqi High Tribunal to demand that Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman, a Kurdish jurist named as chief judge last week, be removed from the current trial and any other legal proceedings against Saddam.

Otherwise, they would not attend any more sessions, they said. Al-Dulaimi also said Saddam would boycott the hearing Wednesday.

But chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mousawi said Saddam and the seven other defendants would be brought to the court by force if necessary.