BAGHGAD (Reuters Wed Oct 19, 2005 ) - The judge who will preside over the trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity was named on Wednesday by U.S. officials, shortly before the trial opened, as Rizgar Mohammed Amin.

Amin, an ethnic Kurd in his late 40s from the northern city of Sulaimaniya, had previously confirmed his role privately to reporters. He was named in an information sheet handed to reporters at the courtroom by U.S. officials.

Four other judges will sit alongside him.

Iraq's Kurds were oppressed for decades during Saddam's rule, and the toppled Iraqi leader is expected to face charges of genocide against the Kurds in a later trial.

At Wednesday's hearing, Saddam will be represented by two attorneys, according to the seating chart; it named them as Khalil al-Dulaimi, who has spoken publicly before and says he will seek an adjournment at Wednesday's first hearing, and Khamees Hameed al-Ubaidi.

Saddam was expected to be seated directly in front of the five-member panel of judges, with Barzan al-Tikriti, one of his half-brothers, Taha Yassin Ramadan, the former vice president, and Awad al-Bandar, a judge whose court passed death sentences on some of the alleged victims in the case.

The men will be in one of three railed pens in the well of the court, with another occupied by four other men accused for their alleged roles in killing more than 140 men from the Shi'ite village of Dujail after a failed assassination attempt on Saddam in 1982.

The court document described these four as Abdullah al-Roweed, ranking member of the Baath Party, Mizher al-Roweed, civil servant, Ali Dayih Ali, civil servant and Mohammed Azzawi Ali, farmer.

A third pen will be left empty, according to the plan provided to reporters.

There was no immediate indication of when the hearing would begin.