[JURIST] A senior Iraqi official told Reuters Monday that the trial of Saddam Hussein [JURIST archive] is unlikely to make significant headway before the December 15 parliamentary elections. "The hearing on November 28 – if it happens at all – won't last more than two or three hours before it's adjourned again until after the election, or indeed until a new government is formed," he predicted. The trial began on October 15 [JURIST report] with Saddam pleading not guilty to all charges, but after three hours of proceedings the judge presiding over the Iraqi High Criminal Court, formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal [JURIST news archive], adjourned the trial [JURIST report] until the November date. Although judges took evidence from a dying witness [JURIST report] Sunday, defense lawyers have said they will boycott further proceedings until the trial is moved out of the country [JURIST report] or authorities solve the murder of Saadoun Sughaiyer al-Janabi, a lawyer for one of Saddam's co-defendants who was kidnapped and killed by assailants late last week. Reuters has more.