The trial of former President Saddam Hussein and seven of his co-defendants was adjourned until Thursday, after Saddam said he was brought to the court against his will, the chief judge said yesterday.

Raouf Abdul Rahman announced that the 39th session was adjourned until Thursday after Saddam's court-appointed lawyer read his long closing argument.

The appointed lawyer impugned testimonies of witnesses and evidences submitted by the prosecution.

"The documents lack any details about a specific role for Saddam in Dujail in 1982. There is no proof that when he was president he visited Dujail after the assassination attempt. there's no proof he was there when the detentions happened," the lawyer said.

Earlier, Saddam said that he was brought to the court against his will.

"I was brought here forcibly," Saddam told the chief judge at the start of the Wednesday session to hear his final arguments in the trial of Saddam and his seven co-defendants for the alleged Dujail massacre.

Saddam was brought to the court from a hospital where he was receiving treatment due to a 17-day-long hunger strike.

Saddam's defense team boycotted the trial in protest against injustice of the process and inadequate protection of defense lawyers' safety.

However, Abdul Rahman appointed a lawyer for Saddam due to the absence of his defense team.

Saddam rejected the appointment, saying "I refuse the lawyers that have been assigned to me, they will be considered enemies by the people."

Defiant Saddam rejected Rahman's accusation that he incited violence against Iraqis, saying "I am inciting Iraqis for killing the Americans, the invaders, not for killing of Iraqis."

"I call on Iraqis to be in harmony and work on evicting the invaders," Saddam said.

Rahman argued that insurgents were killing an average of 60 people every day, and only two Americans were among them.

"If your fighters are not attacking civilians then tell them to attack the Americans in their camps, their tanks are there, do not bomb public areas and coffee shops and markets," Rahman said, "why don't they (Saddam's followers) go detonate themselves among Americans?"

The judge frequently turned off his microphones for security reasons while Saddam was arguing.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants were charged with crimes against humanity for the killing of 148 Shiites in Dujail after Saddam survived an assassination attempt in 1982.