An eminent Indian human rights lawyer is on an international panel of legal luminaries that will defend deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein at his trial.

P V Bhadrachalam has been included in the panel of lawyers for International Committee for Human Rights Lawyers, a Paris-based organisation that has drawn eminent advocates from various countries to defend Saddam.

The international panel, drawn up in July, also has human rights lawyers from the US.

Bhadrachalam, the 68-year-old Chennai-based lawyer, is a leading name in India's human rights movement. He had once been accused of being sympathetic to the LTTE. He was also alleged to be close to Maoists groups.

According to information received here, Bhadrachalam is now busy familiarising himself with Iraqi laws.

A large section of the international legal community feels that Saddam's trial could be a mockery of justice because Iraq's interim government appeared hell bent on awarding him the death sentence after trying him for alleged war crimes.

During the tenure of Saddam Hussein, Iraq did not have capital punishment, but the same has been recently introduced with a view to curbing spiralling violence in the war-torn country.

Iraq's interim government has said it would consider lifting capital punishment once the security situation improved.