Moors murderer Ian Brady has won his battle to have a mental health tribunal held in public.
The child-killer will have the right to give evidence at the hearing, which is expected to take place by the end of the year.
Glasgow-born Brady, 65, has been force-fed by staff at secure Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside since going on hunger strike in September 1999.
In February 2000 a High Court judge ruled that Brady was insane and incapable of deciding to end his life.
He wants the mental health tribunal to move him to an ordinary prison, where the authorities would be powerless to prevent him deliberately starving to death.
A mental health tribunal panel sat on September 1 to decide if the hearing could take place in public.
A spokeswoman for Ashworth Hospital today said Brady's application for a public hearing was successful.
She said: "Every detained patient has the right to a mental health tribunal every year.
"If they wish to have it in public, then they can request that.
"Mr Brady requested a public hearing and that is what will happen."
No date or venue for the hearing has yet been fixed.
Brady murdered five children and teenagers between July 1963 and October 1965. He was sentenced to life for three of the murders in 1966.
PA