[JURIST] Iraqi deputy prime minister Ahmad Chalabi [Wikipedia profile; JURIST news archive] said on Thursday that the trial of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] will begin within 90 days, before the end of September 2005. The government had previously stated that they wanted the trial to begin before the constitutional referendum [JURIST report] scheduled for October 15. On Tuesday, Iraq's justice minister accused the US of stalling the trial [JURIST report]. Saddam's defense team meanwhile continues to object to the proceeding, saying that preliminary stages required by the governing statute [text] of the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website] had not been completed, and that Hussein is protected from charges by sovereign immunity. AKI has more.