PARIS, May 21: The lawyer for Saddam Hussein, Mohammad Rashdan, told Friday's edition of the Paris-based newspaper "Le Parisien" that he fears for the life of the former Iraqi dictator, now a prisoner of war.

Since Saddam was captured by United States forces in Iraq last December, Rashdan has received no information on his client's health. He has asked the International Committee of the Red Cross for an expert medical opinion.

"The provisional Iraqi Governing Council cannot even protect itself. How can it protect prisoners in its country?" The Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandals that came to light last month are very disturbing, said Rashdan. "We are very concerned about Saddam Hussein's prison conditions. We fear for his life."

Saddam's daughter Raghdad received a short message from her father in February but she doubts its authenticity because of its "oddities". Rashdan rejects the plan to put Saddam on trial before an Iraqi war crimes court in 2005. -dpa