Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is isolated from the rest of the world but in good health and was overjoyed when he learned that Spanish troops had left Iraq, a spokesman for his legal team says.
Jordan-based lawyer Ziad Khassawneh said the former president who was captured by US forces in December 2003 "has good health now" but was "isolated from the whole world."
"He is now in a very small cell. He is not allowed to meet either his attorneys or his family," Khassawneh said on a visit to Japan at the invitation of a civic group.
"He doesn't have any TV, no radio and he is not allowed to read newspapers. He knows nothing about what is going on in Iraq or the world," he said.
Saddam last met his defense counsel in December and conveyed his greetings to all "free people" of the world "and especially to France and Germany," which were staunch opponents of the war that ousted him, Khassawneh said.
Saddam voiced his joy during the four and a half hour meeting when he was told that Spain had left the US-led military coalition in Iraq. "He was very happy to know that Spanish forces had left Iraq," Khassawneh said.
