Saddam Hussein, holding a Quran, stands at the trial held under tight security in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in Iraq Nov. 28.

The trial of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his seven aides was adjourned till Dec. 5, the chief judge announced on Monday.

Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin, a Kurd, decided to adjourn the trial in order to give a defendant, former vice president Taha Yassin Ramadan, enough time to assign a lawyer after he refused the lawyer assigned by the court.

Saddam Hussein, holding a Quran, stands at the trial held under tight security in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone in Iraq Nov. 28. The court proceedings on Monday lasted about three hours, including a lunch break of more than one hour.

The trial resumed at around Monday midday after the Oct. 19 court announced an adjournment of the trial by 40 days.

Former US attorney general Ramsey Clark and former Qatari Justice Minister Najib al-Nuaimi, who newly joined the defense team of Saddam and his aides, also appeared in the court.

During the court proceedings, Amin read the testimony of Wadhah Ismail al-Sheikh, a former intelligence official, who gave his evidence from a hospital prison.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants are facing charges of crimes against humanity for the 1982 killing of 148 Shiites in the Dujail village, north of Baghdad, after an attempt on Saddam's life.

If convicted, Saddam might face death penalty.