Saddam and seven former members of his regime are on trial on charges of crimes against humanity for killings, torture and the imprisonment of families during the crackdown launched after a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.

The first witness Monday was a former lawyer in the Revolutionary Court, testifying on behalf of Awad al-Bandar, the court's chief judge who sentenced the 148 Shiites to death for alleged involvement in the assassination attempt.

"The court allowed defendant to commission a lawyer and if a defendant was not able to hire a lawyer then the court would appoint one for him. The court also was allowing all defendants to talk freely," the witness said, speaking from behind a curtain to preserve his anonymity.

"Mr. al-Bandar took the humanitarian aspect into consideration, and he was fair and made all judgment according to law," he said.

The prosecution in the Saddam trial has argued that the trial of the 148 was effectively a show trial, giving them no chance to defend themselves, and has presented documents showing that children were among those sentenced to death.

Al-Bandar has insisted the trial was fair and that all the defendants confessed to a role in the attack on Saddam. But he has acknowledged that there was only one defense lawyer for all 148 and that the trial only lasted 16 days.

The defense is in its third week of presenting witnesses in the 7-month-old trial of Saddam and his former regime officials. The eight face possible execution by hanging if convicted.