PARIS, July 30: The trial of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein would be "a judicial masquerade," one of his French lawyers Andre Chamy said in an interview published on Friday in the regional daily L'Alsace.

"Saddam remains the legal president of Iraq and he is about to be tried in the framework of his functions, after he was arrested by the foreign occupation forces who invaded Iraq without any international legality," said Mr Chamy, who joined Saddam's defence team - 23 lawyers including three French - in mid-July.

Mr Chamy went on: "The Iraqi constitution only allows for trial of its president in one single case: high treason. Up to now, no one has abrogated the constitution. There is no parliament. "For me, under international law, Saddam's arrest is void and the procedure against him is illegal. It is a judicial masquerade." -AFP