The trial of Iraq's ousted president, Saddam Hussein, was to resume on Monday with or without him, after he was admitted to hospital suffering from the effects of a 16-day-old hunger strike.
Court officials and the deposed dictator's defence team said that he had been given treatment for the effects of his strike, launched on July 7 to protest the conduct of his trial and the murder of defence lawyers.
And on Sunday, his lawyers said they and he would boycott the session.
But court spokesman Raed Juhi said that his condition ought not to prevent his attending the hearing, and prosecutor Jaafar al-Musawi warned lawyers that proceedings would continue in any case and that they should turn up.
"His condition is stable and he has been admitted to hospital for medical treatment. His health has not deteriorated and he will be in the dock when the court decides to hear him," said Juhi, the court's investigating magistrate.
Saddam, 68, had been due to appear before judges at the latest hearing in his trial for the alleged killings of 148 members of Iraq's Shiite majority community following an attempt to assassinate him in 1982.
{{/usCountry}}Saddam, 68, had been due to appear before judges at the latest hearing in his trial for the alleged killings of 148 members of Iraq's Shiite majority community following an attempt to assassinate him in 1982.
{{/usCountry}}Three of Saddam's seven co-defendants have joined him in refusing food: former secret police chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, ex-vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan and head of the former revolutionary court Awad al-Bandar.