The defense team of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and his aides conditioned on Wednesday their return to court on 11 demands, including removal of the new chief judge.

"The defense team decided not to join the trial unless the objective and legitimate conditions are achieved to have a fair and transparent trial," Saddam's lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said in a statement, published just hours before the trial will be resumed on Wednesday.

The statement said Chief Judge Raouf Rasheed Abdul Rahman should "be removed from all cases against our clients in this court because he showed them great hostility."

Abdul Rahman, a Kurd, was named chief judge of the Saddam trial after his predecessor, another Kurdish judge Rizgar Muhammed Amin resigned on Jan. 15 under criticism from Shiite politicians for his being too lenient with Saddam and his co-defendants.

The statement also demanded the court be transferred to any country which can offer security.

Saddam and seven of his aides were accused of ordering the killing of more than 140 Shiites in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad, following a 1982 assassination attempt on Saddam.

Source: Xinhua