Monday, August 8 2005 17:59 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Amman (Jordan): Saddam Hussein's family said today (Aug 8, 2005) it has dissolved the Jordan-based legal team cancelling the power of attorney it had given to international lawyers in a move seen as reorganizing Saddam's legal counsel ahead of his upcoming trial.

In an "urgent" statement Saddam's family said it has appointed Khalil Dulaimi as the "one and sole legal counsel." Dulaimi was part of the Jordan-based legal team for the past year and attended some of Saddam's initial court hearings in Baghdad.

The family said it was "obliged to rearrange the legal defence campaign given the unique nature of the case," in the statement signed by Saddam's eldest daughter Raghad. It did not elaborate.

A source close to the family, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the decision, said Raghad and other family members were upset by statements issued by various lawyers and wanted only one legal voice to speak on Saddam's behalf.

Saddam's legal team included 1,500 volunteers - mainly Arabs - and at least 22 lead lawyers from several countries including the United States, France, Jordan, Iraq and Libya.

Prominent among them was Libyan law professor Aicha Moammar Gadhafi, daughter of the Libyan leader, and former US attorney general Ramsey Clark.