BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven others resumed on Monday without the ousted Iraqi leader, who has been receiving medical attention for his hunger strike, and the entire defense team boycotted the session.

Defense attorneys refused to turn up in protest against what they have said was the court's refusal to meet their demands for a fair trial.

Adding to the chaos of the trial, which is approaching its conclusion, Saddam's half-brother and former intelligence chief, Barzan al-Tikriti, said he refused his court-appointed attorney and demanded he be allowed to leave the chamber.

"I am here against my will," he said.

The former Iraqi president was being fed through a tube on Sunday after 16 days on hunger strike. The U.S. military said his condition was not critical.

Three of Saddam's co-accused are presumed to be taking part in the hunger strike; Barzan, his former vice president, Taha Yassin Ramadan, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, who headed Iraq's Revolutionary Court.

SADDAM, 69, has been drinking sweet coffee and liquid nourishment and receiving psychological counselling to try to persuade him to eat, said the U.S. military.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants are on trial for the killing of 148 Shiite men and teenagers after an attempt on his life in the town of Dujail in 1982. They could face hanging if found guilty.

He is also awaiting trial in August for genocide against the Kurds in the late 1980s in the so-called Anfal campaign.

The Dujail trial, which U.S. and Iraqi officials had hoped would project a new image of democracy in postwar Iraq, has been marred by the killing of three defense lawyers.

Saddam and Barzan have often launched tirades in the chamber in a trial which saw the resignation of the first chief judge in protest against what he called government interference.

Barzan and chief judge Raouf Abdel Rahman engaged in yet another verbal exchange on Monday.

Once one of the most feared men in Iraq, Barzan asked Abdel Rahman to adjourn the trial but the request was turned down.

"The decision of your lawyers not to attend the court is for the purpose of the media only. I want to ask you how long you and your lawyers will continue to play this game with the court," he said.

Saddam's chief defense lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, has accused U.S. military authorities of force feeding the toppled president to make him end the hunger strike.

The defense team has questioned the legitimacy of the court, saying it could not hand down a fair verdict because it was created under U.S. occupation.

"Regrettably, your lawyers are making speeches and accusing the court of being linked with the Americans and the occupation," Abdel Rahman told Barzan.