Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein defended himself in court over charges against humanity yesterday. -Xinhua/AFP

Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein testified in a fresh court session yesterday over charges against humanity including the killing of over 140 Shiites in a northern village in the early 1980s.

The proceedings started at 11:00 a.m. (0700 GMT) in the heavily-fortified Green Zone and Saddam was the only defendant that appeared in court, according to a Xinhua reporter at the court. Shortly after the session began, Saddam, wearing a dark suit and white shirt, began a long testimony before the court. The defense team, including chief defense lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi, were present.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants are facing charges against humanity including the killing of 148 Shiite men in the northern village in Dujail after an assassination attempt on Saddam's life in 1982.

In his testimony, Saddam accused the Interior Ministry of killing and torturing Iraqi people amid rising sectarian reprisal attacks touched off by the Feb. 22 bombing of a key Shiite mosque.

"(The Interior Ministry) kills thousands on the street and tortures the people," he said.

The Shiite-controlled Interior Ministry has been blamed by some Sunni Arabs for running death squads against the Sunni Arab community, a charge vigorously denied by the ministry.

Saddam also called for an impartial, independent international body to examine the signatures on documents that prosecutors said were those of Saddam's to order the Dujail killing.

"You should bring an impartial body to examine the signature, not a body that kills thousands people on the streets and tortured them," Saddam told the chief judge, referring to the Interior Ministry.

"Don't deliver political speech," chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman interrupted Saddam.

"If you are scared of the Interior Minister, he doesn't scare my dog," Saddam retorted.

Saddam's co-defendants also claimed that signatures on documents presented to the court were forged.

Chief judge Rahman rejected Saddam's demand for an international examination body.

One of Saddam's defense attorneys, Egyptian lawyer Amin al-Dieb, had a fierce exchange of words with Rahman, insisting "Saddam was executing his constitutional right as a president as his life is threatened."

Saddam was then cross-examined, the first time in the over six-month-long trial.

The chief prosecutor asked Saddam, "How many bodyguards did you have at the time of assassination?"

Saddam stood up in the dock, but instead of answering the question, he began to read a speech prepared beforehand, questioning the legitimacy and fairness of the court. The former Iraqi leader also called upon the Iraqi people to fight the U.S. occupation.

Wednesday's court session started one day after prosecutors announced that they would charge Saddam with genocide against the Kurds in the late 1980s.

Saddam is expected to take the stand over the genocide charges in a separate court as early as next month.

The lengthy trial of Saddam and his seven aides over the Dujail case has been marred by stormy court sessions, killings of two defense lawyer and the resignation of the former chief judge.