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LONDON,
England (CNN) -- Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
spends his time in solitary confinement writing
poems, tending a garden, reading the Koran and
eating American muffins and cookies, a British
newspaper has reported.
The Guardian quoted Bakhtiar Amin, Iraq's new human
rights minister, as saying Saddam "appeared
demoralized and dejected" during a weekend visit to
his cell. Amin said one of Saddam's poems was about
George Bush.
Amin said he did not speak to Saddam but that he
appeared to be "in good health and being kept in
good conditions."
He said Saddam was being treated for high blood
pressure and a chronic prostate infection, although
he had refused a biopsy to test for cancer.
Amin said Saddam "was regaining weight again" after
putting himself on a diet in which he "resisted all
fatty foods and had lost 11 pounds."
Saddam and other detainees get a 1,300-calorie MRE
(meal ready to eat) breakfast, along with two hot
meals a day. Desserts might include oranges, apples,
pears or plums, although Amin said Saddam likes
American muffins and cookies.
Amin said Saddam exercises in his cell, and uses a
daily three-hour exercise period to tend a small
outdoor garden. Saddam is kept apart from other
detainees, who can mix freely with each other during
the exercise periods.
"He is looking after a few bushes and shrubs and has
even placed a circle of white stones around a small
palm tree," Amin said.
"His apparent care for his surroundings is ironic
when you think he was responsible for one of the
biggest ecocides when he drained the southern
marshes."
Saddam's cell in a U.S. military prison is air
conditioned, painted white, and measures 3 meters
(yards) by 5 meters.
Amin said Saddam had taken to reading the Koran and
writing poetry since his first court appearance on
July 1.
"One of the poems is about George Bush, but I had no
time to read it," Amin said.
It wasn't clear whether the poem was about current
U.S. President George W. Bush or his father, former
U.S. President George Bush, who launched the 1991
Gulf War against Saddam.
Amin, a Kurd from Kirkuk, is a longtime Iraqi human
rights campaigner. The Guardian said he was the
first member of Iraq's new interim government to
visit Saddam.
During his visit, Amin said he saw Ali Hassan al-Majid,
also known as Chemical Ali, who allegedly ordered
the use of chemical weapons against Kurds in the
late 1980s.
Amin said he was approached by Saddam's half
brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, a former intelligence
chief who was once Iraq's ambassador to the United
Nations in Geneva.
"Mr. Minister, what am I doing here," Amin quoted
al-Tikriti as saying. "I am not like the others, I
am not like Ali Hassan al-Majid."
Al-Tikriti asked that the message be given to
Kurdish leaders and Iraq's new prime minister, Ayad
Allawi.
"I tried to control my emotions, but to be honest I
wanted to vomit," The Guardian quoted Amin as
saying.
"There before me were the men responsible for the
industrial pain of Iraq -- mass murderers who were
responsible for turning Iraq into a land of mass
graves."
http://www.cnn.com
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