STRASBOURG, France — The head of a European investigation into alleged CIA secret prisons in Europe said today there was evidence the United States outsourced torture to other countries and it was likely European governments knew about it.

But Swiss senator Dick Marty said there was no formal evidence so far of the existence of clandestine detention centers in Romania or Poland as alleged by the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

"There is a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture," Marty said in a report presented to the Council of Europe, the human rights watchdog investigating the alleged secret prisons.

The report said more than 100 terror suspects may have been transferred to countries where they faced torture or ill treatment in recent years.

"It is highly unlikely that European governments, or at least their intelligence services, were unaware," Marty said in the report.

The Council of Europe launched its probe after allegations surfaced in November that U.S. agents interrogated key al-Qaida suspects at clandestine prisons in eastern Europe and transported some suspects to other countries passing through Europe.

Clandestine detention centers would violate European human rights treaties.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The court trying Saddam Hussein canceled the resumption of his trial today, delaying the session for five days, after some judges opposed the appointment of a new chief judge in a last-minute shakeup.The delay and judges' dispute were the latest sign of disarray in the trial of the ousted Iraqi leader and officials from his former regime, calling into question the fairness of what is meant to be a landmark step in Iraq's political progress.The trial has already been marred by delays, assassinations and chaotic courtroom outbursts by Saddam.The latest postponement came a day after a new chief judge was appointed following the resignation of his predecessor and the ouster of another member of the five-judge panel.After hours of waiting for today's court session to begin, court official Raid Juhi told journalists the court had decided to postpone the hearing until Sunday.He said the delay was because some witnesses due to appear today were unable to attend.But two judges said the members of the panel hearing the case were arguing over the appointment of the new chief judge, Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman.Some judges opposed the appointment, while others supported Abdel-Rahman, one of the two judges said. He said the arguments were still going on as the postponement of the session was announced.The other judge appeared to complain about outside interference in the court. When asked what the problem was, he replied, "Matters are not in our hands."