Former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein argues with the judge as he sits in the court during his trial, Sept. 25, 2006

Saddam Hussein's legal defense team has called for a halt to his genocide trial, accusing the Iraqi court of bias against the former president.

In a written statement released Thursday, the lawyers called on the Iraqi public to reject the trial, which they described as a "farce."

The statement did not say if the lawyers would return to court after walking out Monday to protest alleged violations of judicial procedure. The trial is adjourned until October 9 to allow the defendants to either talk with their boycotting attorneys, or find a new defense team.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi government replaced the original chief judge, Abdullah al-Amiri, with his deputy, Mohammed Oreibi al-Khalifa, after the judge said Saddam was not a dictator.

Saddam and six co-defendants are charged with killing tens of thousands of Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP .