The chief judge, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, called a prosecution witness to the stand, reversing his Monday decision that the court would not hear more witnesses but instead review the evidence.

In a handwritten statement released by Saddam's lawyers Tuesday, the ex-president cited what he claimed were repeated "insults" by al-Khalifa and prosecutors.

"I will not accept being offended continuously by you and others," Saddam wrote to al-Khalifa. "Therefore, I ask to be relieved of attending the hearings in this new comedy and you can do whatever you want."

Saddam and his co-defendants have pleaded innocent to charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity arising from their role in a military crackdown on

Iraq's Kurd population. Saddam and one other defendant are also charged with genocide for the campaign, code-named Operation Anfal, in which the prosecution says 180,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

Saddam's army allegedly destroyed hundreds of villages and killed or scattered their inhabitants in a scorched earth campaign against separatist guerrillas.

On Nov. 5, Saddam was convicted in a separate trial in the slaying of 148 Shiite Muslims, including children, following an assassination attempt against him in the town of Dujail in 1982. He was sentenced to death by hanging.

A lawyer for Saddam said Tuesday he had appealed to an American court in an attempt to win a stay of execution in the Dujail case, arguing that the deposed leader's rights had been violated by American troops.

But a U.S. district court judge in the District of Columbia rejected the request because the Italian lawyer is not a member of the D.C. bar.

If an Iraqi appeals court upholds the death sentence, Saddam could be hanged early next year, according to Iraq's chief prosecutor.

Even if a U.S. court were to rule in Saddam's favor, there is no indication that the Iraqi judiciary would apply the decision and stay the execution.

On Sunday Saddam's lawyers formally appealed in Iraq the death sentence for the Dujail case, a court spokesman said.

Under Iraqi law, death sentences are automatically appealed before a higher court within 10 days of their passage. But defense lawyers must file a formal appeal within 30 days, detailing the legal grounds for their action and presenting new evidence that could support their clients' claims of innocence. The lawyers could also make a plea for leniency.

Saddam's chief lawyer, Khalil al-Dulaimi, said two lawyers on the defense team had submitted the papers. He complained that defense lawyers had not received copies of the verdict until Nov. 23, delaying the appeal process.