BAGHDAD, Oct 5: Saddam Hussein’s family has no money to pay for his defence and his legal team is demanding that either the Iraqi court trying him or the media provide the funds, his Iraqi lawyer said Wednesday.

With the former Iraqi president to stand trial over a Shiite massacre in just two weeks, Khalil Dulaimi said that until now his team had been providing its services for free because Saddam’s family “had no money to cover his expenses.”

He said his team had failed to raise the money from “rich Arabs, including those who had amassed fortunes in doing business with Iraq.”

Pointing his finger at the Special Tribunal that will be trying Saddam and seven former cohorts from Oct 19, Dulaimi said it had spent at least 500 million dollars preparing its case.

He said his team had asked the court for funds to cover their costs, but had received no response.

Mr Dulaimi added that he would make no further statements to the media until the tribunal “applies the law and covers the expenses of the lawyers” or until the media do.

Saddam Hussein and seven others are charged in connection with the massacre of 143 people in the mainly Shia village of Dujail in 1982 following an attempt on his life there.

Senior former officials to be tried with him are ex-vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, Saddam’s half-brother and former intelligence boss Barzan Ibrahim al Hassan and a former deputy chief in Saddam’s cabinet, Awad Ahmed al Bandar.

The other four — Abdullah Khadem Ruweid, Mezhar Abdullah Ruweid, Ali Daeh and Mohammed Azzam al Ali — are former ruling Baath party officials responsible for the Dujail area.—AFP