RizgarMohammed Amin, 47, the presiding judge of a five-judge tribunaloverseeing the Saddam case, conducts the trial held under tightsecurity in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in Iraq Wednesday,Oct. 19, 2005. Saddam Hussein and other defendants face charges thatthey ordered the killing in 1982 of nearly 150 people in the mainlyShiite village of Dujail north of Baghdad after a failed attempt on theformer dictator's life. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, Pool) (Ben Curtis - AP)

It was unclear if Amin's Kurdish background played any role inhis selection as presiding judge. But it is sure to hold symbolicpower, because Kurds and Shiite Muslims were the two main groups thatSaddam oppressed. The case Amin will oversee concerns Shiite victims ofa 1982 massacre.

Under the Iraqi court system, Aminand the four other judges will both hear the case and render a verdict.The names of the other judges have not been released, and Iraqi courtofficials did not allow television cameras to show their faces.

Amin,wearing a black robe with a white collar, maintained a calm demeanorthroughout the three-hour hearing, then adjourned the proceedings untilNov. 28.

As the trial began, Saddam asked him bluntly: "Who are you? I want to know who you are."

Aminthen tried to get Saddam to identify himself formally, but the formerdictator refused and finally sat. Amin read his name for him, callinghim the "former president of Iraq."

Among the manyIraqis glued to their televisions to watch the trial, Amin's manner wasthe subject of much discussion. Some were impressed, others thought hewas letting Saddam get away with too much.

Amin "wasvery gentle," said Amira Ali, a Sunni Arab woman in Baghdad. "Hetreated all the defendants with respect, while the prosecutor was somean and was talking in a strange accent _ and in a very sectarian way.I hope they will keep (Amin) at the head of this court so that we canbe sure of an honest trial."

In the northern city ofKirkuk, Zainab Wali was overjoyed to see a fellow Kurd leading thetrial of the ousted dictator. "I feel like my own brother is judgingSaddam since the judge is Kurdish," she said.

Butthat didn't stop her from screaming at the television when Saddam madehis arguments: "Why are you even giving him the chance to talk?"

Amin's name was made known shortly before the trial began.

Heis a 1980 graduate of Baghdad University who first worked as a lawschool teacher in his hometown and then became a judge in the region'scourts. He was appointed deputy head of a regional appeals court andthen director of Kirkuk's criminal court.

In the first years of his career, he would have thus worked under Saddam's regime.

But by 1992, the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq were autonomous, operating outside Saddam's sway.

DuringSaddam's earlier court hearings, a different judge presided. Thatjudge, Raid Juhi, was the top investigating judge in the case. His rolewas more like that of a prosecutor in the U.S. federal court system,seeking a grand jury indictment.

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Associated Press writer Yahya Barazanji in northern Iraq contributed to this report.