“I will not betray my honour and my conscience and testify against Saddam Hussein,” Aziz said in a statement read to The Associated Press by his lawyer, Badee Izzat Aref.

Aziz, a former foreign minister and deputy foreign minister, relayed the message in English and Arabic, Aref said.

Aziz remains in US custody and is also facing charges for his role in Saddam’s regime. Aref said he meets with his client twice a week.

An investigative judge on the Iraqi Special Tribunal, Munir Haddad, said earlier this week he expects that Saddam’s first trial will begin “within 45 to 50 days.”