Abdullah Azzam, the Saudi prisoner in Iraq, was allowed to call his family in Riyadh yesterday. This phone call, which lasted for less than five minutes, was his second since he entered prison.

His brother, Misfer, said that he tried to convince Abdullah to stop his hunger strike that he began 23 days ago.

Abdullah began the hunger strike to put pressure on Iraqi authorities to transfer him from the Al-Kathemia prison to the Sosah prison in Kurdistan and to grant him a retrial.

Misfer called on the Saudi committee to visit Iraq as early as possible to make sure the agreement between the two countries includes prisoners sentenced to death.

"My brother's confessions were taken by force and torture. He was forced to sign on blank papers and then they wrote what they claimed was his confession," said Misfer.

He demanded the Saudi Embassy in Jordan to do something tosave his brother before his health worsens.

A local newspaper yesterday reported that one of the lawyers hired to defend the Saudi prisoners said he visited the Al-Kathemia prison and suspects Abdullah could be suffering from hepatitis. He added that Abdullah insisted on being transferred to either the Sosah or Jumjuman prison.