Saddam Hussein's trial is on hold once again, this time until early next month.

The Iraqi chief judge in Baghdad adjourned the stormy trial until April 5 after the obstinate former dictator outright refused to answer prosecutors' questions. Wednesday marked the first time Saddam testified at his trial, and he did so with fiery political speeches that prompted the chief judge to close the courtroom, CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan reports.

Saddam called on Iraqis to stop a bloody wave of sectarian violence and instead fight American troops. He also encouraged Iraqis to "unite in a jihad against the occupiers," Logan reports.

Even as the judge repeatedly yelled at him to stop, Saddam read from a prepared text, insisting he was still Iraq's president.

"Let the (Iraqi) people unite and resist the invaders and their backers. Don't fight among yourselves," he said, praising the insurgency. "In my eyes, you are the resistance to the American invasion."

Finally chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman ordered the session to continue in secret, telling journalists to leave the chamber. The video and audio broadcast of the trial was cut off. Logan reports the blackout lasted almost two hours and raised questions about the transparency of the court.

After nearly two hours, reporters were called back into the court. Saddam was sitting alone in the defendants' pen in front of the judge. The former Iraqi leader then refused to answer questions from the chief prosecutor, demanding to see a copy of his testimony given to investigators before the trial began. The prosecution agreed to the demand and said they would question Saddam in the next session.

Saddam was the last of the case's eight defendants to be called to testify. Though he has spoken frequently since the trial began in October, Wednesday's session was to be the first chance for the judge and prosecutors to directly question him on charges of killing 148 Shiites and imprisoning and torturing others during a 1982 crackdown against the Shiite town of Dujail.

Instead, Saddam, dressed in a black suit, read from his statement, insisting he was Iraq's elected president and calling the trial a "comedy."

He addressed the "great Iraqi people," a phrase he often used in his speeches as president, and urged them to stop the wave of Shiite-Sunni violence that has rocked the country since the bombing of a major Shiite shrine last month.

"What pains me most is what I heard recently about something that aims to harm our people," Saddam said. "My conscience tells me that the great people of Iraq have nothing to do with these acts," he said referring to the bombing of the shrine in the city of Samarra.

Abdel-Rahman interrupted saying he was not allowed to give political speeches in the court.

"I am the head of state," Saddam replied.

"You used to be a head of state. You are a defendant now," Abdel-Rahman said.

The judge repeatedly closed his microphone to prevent his words from being heard and told him to address the case against him. But Saddam ignored him, continuing to read from his text.

"What happened in the last days is bad," he said, referring to the recent violence. "You will live in darkness and rivers of blood for no reason."

"The bloodshed that they (the Americans) have caused to the Iraqi people only made them more intent and strong to evict the foreigners from their land and liberate their country," Saddam said.

At one point, Abdel-Rahman screamed at him, "Respect yourself." Saddam shouted back: "you respect yourself."

"You are being tried in a criminal case for killing innocent people, not because of your conflict with America," Abdel-Rahman told him. "What about the innocent people who are dying in Baghdad? I am talking to the Iraqi people," Saddam replied.

Finally, Abdel-Rahman ordered the session closed to the public. "The court has decided to turn this into a secret and closed session," he said.

One of Saddam's lawyers told Logan he has little doubt the court has already decided Saddam is guilty. "I fully expect him to be dead by the end of the year, executed by this court in this show trial," he said, adding that Saddam himself was convinced the court was determined to see him dead and would find him guilty. "They can kill his body, but not his spirit," Saddam's lawyer said.

The stormy session was a stark contrast to the past three hearings, when each of Saddam's seven co-defendants has appeared, one by one, and was questioned by Abdel-Rahman and the chief prosecutor.