[JURIST] The Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) [official website, English version; JURIST news archive] has denied recent reports [press statement] that the trial of Saddam Hussein is imminent, perhaps getting underway in the next two months [JURIST report] with the first of 12 specific cases against him [JURIST report]. The Tribunal stressed its independence from any political timetable possibly relating to the country's constitution-drafting process, stating "Any appointment to start the trials belongs to the decision of the judges who will take a look at the claims against the accused after finishing the investigation procedures." It is expected that the former Iraqi president captured in December 2003 will be tried for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide relating to gassing Kurds in Halabja in 1988 [BBC backgrounder], suppression of Shi'ite and Kurd uprisings [BBC backgrounder] and the prosecution of the 1990-91 war against Kuwait. Reuters has more.