Saddam Hussein was being fed through a tube on Sunday after 16 days on hunger strike and an Iraqi official said he will not attend court on Monday. "To avoid a deterioration in his health he was taken to hospital for medical attention and food was given to him through his mouth," chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Moussawi told Reuters. "He will not be able to attend the session tomorrow."
A US military spokesman said Saddam was not in critical condition.
"Saddam Hussein continues to maintain his hunger strike and is voluntarily receiving nutrition through a feeding tube. His condition is constantly monitored by medical personnel and is not life-threatening," he said.
Saddam lawyers accuse the US military of force-feeding the ousted leader, whose hunger strike has added to the chaos of his trial, which is approaching its conclusion.
The US military says the 69-year-old ex-president has been drinking sweet coffee and liquid nourishment and receiving psychological counselling to try to persuade him to eat.
Saddam and his co-accused are on trial for the killing of 148 Shi'ite men and teenagers after an attempt on his life in the town of Dujail in 1982.
He is also awaiting trial in August for genocide against the Kurds in the late 1980s under the so-called Anfal campaign.
The Dujail trial, which US and Iraqi officials had hoped would project a new image of democracy in post-war Iraq, has been marred by the killing of three defence lawyers.
Saddam and his half-brother and former intelligence chief Barzan al-Tikriti have often launched tirades in the chamber in a trial which saw the resignation of the first chief judge in protest over what he called government interference.
Saddam's chief defence lawyer accused US military authorities of force feeding the toppled president to make him end the hunger strike.
"The US military are force-feeding the president to break his will and end his hunger strike to protest against the trial and its illegality," Khalil Dulaimi told Reuters in Amman.
Dulaimi said he had held a three-hour meeting with Saddam on Saturday to confer on defence tactics in which a decision was taken to boycott Monday's session. He said he had found Saddam in good health, despite a weight loss of several kilograms.
"They have clearly exhausted all means at their disposal to convince him to end the strike and now they are resorting to force ... this is a gross violation of his rights."
Saddam, who was absent as the US backed court heard final arguments in defence of two minor co-accused, said he had boycotted the session to protest against a decision to convict him through unlawful proceedings.
Dulaimi said the defence team would boycott Monday's session in protest at the court's refusal to meet their demands for a fair trial.
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