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Libya trial against Gaddafi allies postponed
Posted: February 6th, 2012, 5:25pm MSK
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[JURIST] The trial against 41 Libyans accused of assisting Muammar Gaddafi [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive] in suppressing the revolt during the Libya conflict [JURIST backgrounder] was postponed Sunday after a brief start, according to the Libyan news agency LANA. The men face charges [Tripoli Post report] of murder and helping prisoners escape. The court postponed the trial in response to pleadings [Reuters report] by the defense panel that the case be transferred to the civil judiciary because the military court allegedly lacks competence to rule on the issue. The trial is set to resume on February 15. Gaddafi's son,... -
Federal judge allows challenge to Utah anti-polygamy law
Posted: February 5th, 2012, 11:14pm MSK
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[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Utah [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Friday that the Browns, a publicly polygamist family living in Utah, have standing to bring a suit challenging Utah's anti-bigamy law against Utah County Attorney General Jeffrey Buhman. The court dismissed challenges brought against Utah Governor Gary Herbert and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff for lack of standing, saying there was insufficient evidence that the state officials had any intention to prosecute the family under these laws. The challenges against Buhman were allowed to stand, however, because there was sufficient evidence that... -
US army drops charges in Afghan civilian death case
Posted: February 5th, 2012, 10:16pm MSK
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[JURIST] The US Army dropped all charges against Army Specialist Michael Wagnon Friday, ending the final case in a series of related charges against five army personnel accused of killing Afghan civilians. Wagnon had been facing a charge of murder for his alleged involvement in the killing of three Afghan civilians and was expected to go to trial in March. All four of the other soldiers charged in connection with the killings were either convicted or pleaded guilty. In a statement Friday, Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield did not go into detail [News Tribune report] about why the charges... -
Virginia lawmakers approve bill allowing adoption agencies to refuse placement
Posted: February 5th, 2012, 7:53pm MSK
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[JURIST] The Virginia House of Delegates [official website] on Friday voted 71-28 to approve a bill [text] that would allow adoption agencies to refuse to place a child if the agency, or anyone affiliated with it, disagrees with the proposed placement based on religious beliefs. Effectively, this bill would allow adoption agencies to refuse to adopt to same-sex couples. Governor Bob McDonnell [official profile] said he will sign the bill if it makes it to his desk. The bill provides, in relevant part:No private child-placing agency shall be required to consider or consent to any placement of a child for... -
France appeals court upholds Scientology fraud conviction
Posted: February 5th, 2012, 6:54pm MSK
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[JURIST] A French court of appeals on Thursday upheld the 2009 fraud conviction against the Church of Scientology [church website, JURIST news archive], fining the defendants a total of €600,000. The decision upheld the original conviction of the Spiritual Association of the Church of Scientology (ASES) [church website, in French], an affiliated bookstore, and seven other members for fraud and illegal practice of pharmacy. The complaint was originally filed [JURIST report] by a woman who was recruited in 1998 and spent €21,000 on the church and was then not allowed to leave or receive a reimbursement. The appeals court ordered... -
Pentagon official denies extension for 9/11 suspects
Posted: February 4th, 2012, 10:55pm MSK
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[JURIST] Bruce MacDonald, the senior Pentagon official overseeing war crimes tribunals at Guantanamo [JURIST backgrounder], on Friday denied a request to extend the filing deadline for pre-trial motions [JURIST report] for prisoners accused of planning the 9/11 attacks [JURIST backgrounder]. The prisoners' lawyers stated that they needed the extension because of delays in getting security clearance [AP report] and new restrictions on legal mail between the attorneys and their clients. The prisoners' arraignment is set to occur within months. In January, Chief Defense Counsel for Guantanamo war crimes tribunals, Colonel JP Colwell, ordered attorneys under his command not to comply... -
Federal government requests additional time for oral argument in health care reform case
Posted: February 4th, 2012, 10:06pm MSK
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[JURIST] The federal government on Friday requested additional time for oral argument [brief, PDF] before the US Supreme Court to argue that the minimum coverage provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) [HR 3590; JURIST backgrounder], which requires almost every US citizen to obtain health insurance by 2014 or face a tax penalty, is constitutional. The government requested an additional 30 minutes, which would bring the total time allotted for oral argument to six hours. The government is defending [JURIST report] the health care minimum coverage requirement by attempting to keep the focus of the argument on... -
US Army refers intelligence analyst's Wikileaks case for court-martial
Posted: February 4th, 2012, 5:43pm MSK
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[JURIST] US Army [official website] commander Maj. Gen. Michael Linnington [official profile] referred Pfc. Bradley Manning [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] to a general court-marital Friday on all charges for allegedly releasing classified information to WikiLeaks [website; JURIST news archive]. The referral to a court-martial means Manning will now stand trial [AP report] on 22 counts brought against him for his alleged disclosure of over 700,000 confidential documents and videos to the Wikileaks website. It was the largest leak of classified information in US history. Manning's defense lawyers argue he should have never been sent to Iraq nor given access... -
EU asks Google to delay new privacy policy
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 10:56pm MSK
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[JURIST] The European Union's data protection authorities wrote a letter [text, PDF] to Google Thursday asking it to delay implementation of its new privacy policy, which is supposed to take effect March 1. The EU is concerned the privacy policy, which will combine various policies of more than 60 of its products into one, may be in violation of EU laws. Google released details of its new privacy policy [corporate website] last week, saying it will make it easier to share user information between different products, as well as enhancing search engine capabilities. Google also claims the policy will be... -
Lawyers for 9/11 suspects seeking further trial delay
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 9:54pm MSK
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[JURIST] Lawyers for two Guantanamo prisoners accused of planning the 9/11 attacks [JURIST backgrounders] asked the Pentagon Thursday to extend the filing deadline for pre-trial motions. There are currently two prisoners requesting extension, and they both cite the recent mail review controversy as to why they have been unable to meet the current deadline. Navy Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, the lawyer appointed to represent Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsaw,i claims that the new restrictions on legal mail between attorneys and their clients prevented Ruiz from meeting the deadline. The attorneys for Ramzi Binalshibh andal-Hawsawi are both asking for extensions [Miami Herald report]. Binalshibh... -
Rwanda court charges genocide suspect
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 9:33pm MSK
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[JURIST] War crimes suspect Leon Mugesera was charged with genocide planning, incitement and distribution of arms Thursday in a Kigali court in Rwanda. He was deported from Canada to Rwanda [JURIST report] nine days ago, following a 16-year battle in the Canadian court system in which Mugesera attempted to stay in Canada. The Quebec Superior Court ruled last month [judgment, in French] that it did not have jurisdiction over the case. Mugesera is facing charges relating to a speech he made [BBC report] when he was a member of the ruling Hutu party in Rwanda in 1992. His speech, in... -
France court rules Google Maps practicing unfair competition
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 9:04pm MSK
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[JURIST] The French Commercial Tribunal [official website, in French] in Paris ruled Tuesday that Google Maps [corporate website] is anti-competitive because it is offered as a free service. The plaintiff, Bottin Cartographers [corporate website], alleged that Google provides its maps service for free, thereby undercutting competitors, in order to gain market control. The court ordered that Google must pay £415,000 to the plaintiff [Guardian report], as well as a €15,000 fine, totaling about $680,000. This is the first conviction against Google's maps service. The attorney for Bottin Cartographers said the decision "recognized the unfair and abusive character of the methods... -
Massachusetts court rules child custody laws apply to same-sex parents
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 8:43pm MSK
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[JURIST] The Massachusetts Appeals Court [official website] held Thursday that same-sex [JURIST news archive] couples who marry and have a baby via artificial insemination are bound by the same child custody laws [opinion] as heterosexual couples. The decision came after an appeal by Della Corte, who tried to have the parental rights of her ex-wife, Angelica Rameriez, revoked in divorce proceedings since she could never be a "husband," as defined by the Massachusetts law. The court found that even though Rameriez had no biological connection with the child and that the child was conceived before the marriage, she should still... -
ICJ rules Germany immune from Nazi victim claims
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 7:28pm MSK
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[JURIST] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official website] on Friday ruled [judgment, PDF] that Germany has immunity from claims brought in foreign courts by victims of the Nazi regime. The Court found that a 2008 decision by Italy's Supreme Court [JURIST report] violated Germany's sovereign rights by allowing an Italian national to seek reparations in response to his deportation in 1944. Germany appealed this decision to the ICJ and oral arguments were heard [JURIST report] in September 2011. Germany argued that allowing the ruling to stand would violate state immunity and open the floodgates to new claims. The Italian... -
Ex-Khmer Rouge leader sentenced to life
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 7:17pm MSK
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[JURIST] The Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website] on Friday sentenced Kaing Guek Eav [Hague Justice profile; ECCC materials], also known as "Duch," to life imprisonment [press release] for crimes against humanity and violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions [materials]. In a supermajority decision [summary, PDF], the Supreme Court Chamber overturned two decisions of the Trial Chamber. According to the Supreme Court Chamber, the July 2010 decision [JURIST report] imposing 35 years of imprisonment was made in error because it focused on the mitigating factors such as cooperation, regret and apology... -
HRW: Syria forces torturing children
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 6:11pm MSK
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[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said Friday that Syrian army and security officers have been engaged in the torture of children [press release]. The allegations stem from HRW's documentation of cases in which children were reportedly detained, tortured and shot in their homes. There are prior findings that the Syrian government has been involved in torturing and killing civilian protesters. HRW discovered that among those tortured protesters were children as young as 13. Interviews with juvenile victims and adult protesters who saw those children in detention centers confirmed HRW's findings. Children were reportedly arrested in schools, beaten and... -
Virginia senate approves bill requiring ultrasound before abortion
Posted: February 3rd, 2012, 12:02am MSK
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[JURIST] The Virginia Senate [official website] approve a bill [text] on Wednesday that would require a woman seeking an abortion [JURIST news archive] to have an ultrasound before the procedure. The new requirements include the audio provision of fetal heartbeat and a determination of the gestational age of the fetus. Additionally, a written record must be created to indicate that the woman was offered the ultrasound and whether she choose to view it. That record, along with a copy of the ultrasound picture will be included in the woman's medical file. Some commentators have recently noted [JURIST op-ed] that similar... -
Ninth Circuit seals videos from California same-sex marriage trial
Posted: February 2nd, 2012, 10:12pm MSK
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[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Thursday ruled [opinion, PDF] that it will not release video recordings from Perry v. Schwarzenegger [opinion], California's 2010 trial which declared Proposition 8 [text, PDF; JURIST news archive], the state's same-sex marriage ban, to be unconstitutional. In reversing the opinion of the US District Court for the Northern District of California [official website], the circuit court concluded that recordings from the landmark case could not be released [AP report] without undermining the integrity of the judicial system. It found that Chief Judge Walker, the district judge at... -
Lebanon tribunal to try accused Hariri assassins in absentia
Posted: February 2nd, 2012, 8:14pm MSK
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Four accused assassins of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri will be tried in absentia, a UN tribunal said Wednesday. The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) said Wednesday that after considering the efforts taken by the prosecution and the authorities to apprehend the suspects, they would move forward with the trial. The four alleged Hezbollah members are accused of involvement in a February 2005 truck bomb that killed Hariri and 22 other people. The STL determined that the prosecution took "all reasonable steps" to apprehend and inform the accused, and that the proceedings were a "last resort":The Trial Chamber... -
Lawyer for Guantanamo detainee seeks to question Yemen president
Posted: February 2nd, 2012, 7:58pm MSK
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Lawyers for a suspect in the USS Cole bombing being held at Guantanamo Bay filed a motion Tuesday with the military commission overseeing detainee cases seeking to subpoena the president of Yemen for questioning. Lawyers for alleged al Qaeda senior leader Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri filed the motions seeking to question Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh while he is in the US receiving medical treatment. They argue that because Saleh will be in the jurisdiction of the US he can lawfully be subpoenaed. Nashiri's lawyers argue that Saleh, who was president of Yemen when the USS Cole attack occurred, may have... -
UN rights chief expresses concern over Senegal protests
Posted: February 2nd, 2012, 7:39pm MSK
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[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay [official website] expressed concern [press release] Thursday about excessive force used by Senegalese authorities in response to protests that ensued after the announcement of presidential candidates. Reports of shooting at protestors have caused the death of at least one police officer and four other people this week. The reports were "disturbing" to Pillay given Senegal's tradition of respect for freedom of association, assembly and expression. She said, "[w]ith the presidential campaign beginning this weekend, I cannot stress enough the importance of full respect for the fundamental human rights. These rights are... -
US Army veteran sues over denial of benefits for same-sex spouse
Posted: February 2nd, 2012, 7:23pm MSK
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[JURIST] An Iraq war veteran filed suit [complaint, PDF] Wednesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website] against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) [official website] after it refused to pay her full disability benefits because she is in a same-sex marriage. Tracy Cooper-Harris, who served in the US Army [official website] for over a decade, argues that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text] is unconstitutional because it discriminates against legally married individuals. Cooper-Harris and her wife were legally married in California in 2008. Cooper-Harris has been receiving benefits from the VA since... -
Pakistan high court orders PM to appear on contempt charges
Posted: February 2nd, 2012, 7:07pm MSK
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[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] on Thursday ordered Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to appear in court on February 13 for a formal indictment on contempt charges. Gilani has failed to comply with the court's order to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari [official website], but Gilani maintains he did not comply with the court's order because Zardari is immune from prosecution [Al Jazeera report]. The conflict between the prime minister and the court stems from an order which struck down [JURIST report] the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO)... -
Washington senate approves same-sex marriage bill
Posted: February 2nd, 2012, 3:14pm MSK
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[JURIST] The Washington state Senate [official website] approved Senate Bill 6239 [materials] to legalize same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] by a vote of 28–21 late Wednesday evening. Washington currently grants expanded domestic partnership rights [JURIST report] rather than full marriage or civil union rights to same-sex couples. Several amendments affording protection of religious objection to same-sex marriage were added to the bill in debate. Others, that would have triggered a referendum on the issue, and would have allowed marriage-related business owners' ability to discriminate against same-sex couples, were rejected. The House of Representatives [official website] is expected to pass the... -
ACLU sues US government for information on targeted killings
Posted: February 1st, 2012, 10:06pm MSK
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[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit [complaint, PDF] on Wednesday under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [text] demanding the US government release information about their targeted killing program [press release] of US citizens abroad. The lawsuit comes in response to the three American citizens that have been killed by drones in the past four months. In particular, the ACLU seeks specific evidence that provided the basis for the strikes in Yemen during the fall of 2011, which killed three Americans. This lawsuit overlaps and expands on a lawsuit [JURIST report] filed by the... -
UN tribunal accepts war crimes lawyer's contempt plea
Posted: February 1st, 2012, 9:28pm MSK
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[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive] accepted a plea agreement [press release] on Tuesday in which Jelena Rasic, the case manager for Bosnian war criminal Milan Lukic, pleaded guilty [amended indictment, PDF] to five counts of contempt against the tribunal. According to the original indictment [PDF], the prosecutor of the tribunal charged Rasic with contempt for procuring false witness statements from three Bosnian citizens. In exchange for signing the pre-written witness statements, Rasic gave the three citizens money. The prosecutor concluded that by procuring these false witness statements and committing bribery,... -
Lawyers for ex-Liberia president Taylor seek to reopen war crimes case
Posted: February 1st, 2012, 8:28pm MSK
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[JURIST] Lawyers for former Liberian president Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] requested Tuesday that the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) [official website] reopen Taylor's war crimes case in light of new evidence, including a recent report [text, PDF] by the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia. Taylor's lawyers request this report be admitted as evidence in the case [AP report], claiming that the report may show that Taylor was not instrumental in directing mercenaries who committed war crimes in Sierra Leone. The report dedicates about 20 pages to Liberian mercenaries, and Taylor's lawyers contend that the panel's... -
Sweden high court refuses to hear appeal in Pirate Bay case
Posted: February 1st, 2012, 7:44pm MSK
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[JURIST] The Swedish Supreme Court [official website, in Swedish] announced Wednesday that it will not hear an appeal of the copyright convictions of Fredrik Neji, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundstroem for their involvement in running The Pirate Bay [website], a file-sharing website. After reviewing the case, the court found there were no special circumstances warranting review. The court could also have decided to hear the case if it determined a review by Sweden's highest court would be important for the country's law enforcement, but it declined to hear the appeal on those ground as well. The court's decision not to... -
UK men plead guilty to London Stock Exchange terror plot
Posted: February 1st, 2012, 7:21pm MSK
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[JURIST] Four British men pleaded guilty Wednesday to plotting an al Qaeda inspired attack against the London Stock Exchange (LSE) [official website]. In December 2010, nine men who met through radical Islamist groups were charged and taken into custody [JURIST report] in the UK for conspiring to bomb the US Embassy [official website] and the LSE. When the plot was uncovered, all nine men were picked up in raids. They denied all charges originally, but four of the men pleaded guilty [AP report] on the eve of their trials. Mohammed Chowdhury, Shah Rahman, Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah admitted that... -
Google defends privacy policy in response to concerns from US lawmakers
Posted: February 1st, 2012, 4:10pm MSK
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[JURIST] Google issued a letter [text; press release] Tuesday in response to concerns raised by members of Congress regarding consumer privacy rights as impacted by the search giant's new privacy policy [corporate website; press release]. In its response Google replied to 11 specific questions posed in a letter sent last week [JURIST report] to CEO Larry Page [NYT backgrounder] by US Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) [official website] and seven other lawmakers. Google's response included a confirmation that no new types of data are going to be collected with the advent of the new privacy policy, a list of those services... -
HRW urges India to prosecute border soldiers for torture
Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:40pm MSK
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[JURIST] Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] on Monday urged [press release] the Indian government to prosecute Border Security Force (BSF) [official website] soldiers that it has long implicated in torture and extrajudicial killings near the Bangladesh border. HRW's plea comes in response to the release of a YouTube video [warning: graphic content] capturing BSF soldiers stripping, tying up and beating a Bangladeshi national caught smuggling cattle from Bangladesh into India. Although Indian law requires the BSF to hand over such lawbreakers to the police, HRW contends that the soldiers "illegally detained and tortured" the man, then left him to return... -
France lawmakers seek ruling on genocide denial ban
Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:26pm MSK
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[JURIST] A French genocide denial ban [materials, in French] passed last week [JURIST report] stalled on Tuesday after two groups of French politicians challenged the law's constitutionality. The opposition groups, which include members in both the Senate and the National Assembly, gathered the necessary signatures to require the Constitutional council of the French Republic [official websites, in French] to determine if the law is constitutional. While France has already recognized the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks as genocide, the new law would punish anyone who denies that the killings constituted a genocide with up to a year in... -
Spain judge Garzon defends Franco-era probes
Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:14pm MSK
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[JURIST] Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzon [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] took the stand in his second trial [JURIST report] before the Spanish Supreme Court [official website, in Spanish] on Tuesday and defended his investigation into war crimes allegedly committed under Francisco Franco [BBC backgrounder] during the Spanish Civil War. Garzon has been charged with abusing power by ordering the exhumation [JURIST reports] of 19 mass graves in Spain in order to assemble a definitive national registry of Civil War victims, despite a 1977 law that provides amnesty for Franco-era crimes. While on the stand, Garzon refused to answer questions [CNN... -
Haiti ex-president Duvalier will not face trial for rights violations
Posted: January 31st, 2012, 9:03pm MSK
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[JURIST] Haiti's Investigative Magistrate Carves Jean ruled Monday that former president Jean-Claude Duvalier [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] will not stand trial for crimes against humanity, including torture, false imprisonment, rape and murder during his reign between 1971 and 1986. Jean dismissed the charges reasoning that there are not sufficient legal grounds and that the statute of limitations has expired. Based on this ruling, Duvalier will go on trial before a special court facing charges of corruption and misappropriation of public funds with at most 5-year imprisonment. Jean's ruling has not been made public. Numerous human rights groups, including Amnesty... -
ICTY war crimes suspect Seselj demands compensation for trial delays
Posted: January 31st, 2012, 3:35pm MSK
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[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] announced Monday that former Serb nationalist politician and war crimes suspect Vojislav Seselj [official website, in Serbian; JURIST news archive] is suing ICTY for USD $2.6 million in damages due to alleged unreasonable delays in his trial. The ICTY declined to comment [AP report] on the filings Seselj made earlier this month, in which he charges that the ICTY refused to give him materials in Serbian; denied him communication with family members, doctors, and legal counsel; delayed his trial interminably; and refused him a right to his own,... -
Romania high court sentences ex-PM Nastase to 2 years in prison
Posted: January 31st, 2012, 2:11pm MSK
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[JURIST] Romania's High Court of Cassation and Justice [official website, in Romanian] on Monday sentenced former prime minister Adrian Nastase [personal website, in Romanian] to two years in prison on charges of graft and corruption [lawyer notes, in Romanian]. Referred to as the "trophy quality" case, Nastase and five other members of the Social Democratic Party of Romania [party website, in Romanian] were convicted of raising money through taxation under a company called "trophy quality construction works" that then funneled USD $2.2 million to Nastase's failed presidential campaign. Some of Nastase's co-conspirators received sentences up to seven years, and all... -
Pakistan high court lifts travel ban on former US ambassador
Posted: January 30th, 2012, 10:03pm MSK
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[JURIST] The Pakistan Supreme Court [official website] on Monday ordered that a travel ban imposed upon the former ambassador to the US is to be lifted. The ban was imposed upon Husain Haqqani after an anonymous memo that implied Pakistani politicians were collaborating with US politicians was sent to Washington, DC, in May, after Osama bin Laden was killed by US forces [JURIST report]. Haqqani resigned from his position as ambassador to the US after he came under suspicion for being the author of the memo. The Pakistan Supreme Court created a commission in order to investigate the origin of... -
HRW concerned over aging US prison population
Posted: January 30th, 2012, 8:37pm MSK
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[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] expressed concern [press release] Friday over aging men and women becoming the most rapidly growing group in US prisons and the ability of officials to provide appropriate housing and medical care to these individuals. The report [text, PDF], "Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States," asserts that, depending on the state, the cost to effectively house and treat older prisoners is three to nine times higher than those for younger prisoners. The report found that 9.6 percent of prisoners are serving life sentences and an additional 11.2 percent have... -
Senegal high court allows president to run for third term
Posted: January 30th, 2012, 6:09pm MSK
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[JURIST] Senegal's highest court ruled Monday that President Abdoulaye Wade [official profile, in French] can run for a third term, rejecting an appeal by the opposition. The Senegalese Constitution [text, in French] had no term limits when Wade initially took office in 2000, but it was amended in 2001 to impose a two-term limit. The court found that Wade's "first term" under the 2001 constitution did not begin until he was reelected in 2007, concluding that he is eligible to run for another term. The court also rejected an appeal by popular musician Youssou Ndour, ruling that he will not... -
Norway men convicted of terrorism for plotting attack on Danish newspaper
Posted: January 30th, 2012, 5:17pm MSK
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[JURIST] A Norwegian court on Monday convicted two men accused of planning an attack against the Danish newspaper that published a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. This is the first conviction under Norway's anti-terror laws [AP report]. Both defendants, Mikael Davud and Shawan Sadek Saeed Bujak, were found guilty in the Oslo district court, and sentenced to seven and three-and-a-half years, respectively. Although cleared of terror charges, David Jakobsen, will serve four months for helping the two defendants acquire explosives. The judge said that Davud orchestrated the attack with al Qaeda. Depicting the Prophet Muhammad is considered blasphemous by Muslims... -
Libya to take control of makeshift prisons
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 11:08pm MSK
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[JURIST] In response to international criticism the Libya Ministry of Justice announced on Sunday that it will be commandeering "makeshift prisons" around the country to prevent further prisoner torture. Deputy Minister Khalifa Ashour acknowledged that primarily loyalists to former dictator Muammar Gaddafi [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive] have been tortured in unregulated prisons [AP report]. Other detainees are citizens under arrest for murder or drug and alcohol possession. Ashour also stated that the Ministry has taken control of two prisons already, one in Tripoli and one in Misrata. Earlier this week, both Amnesty International (AI) and UN High Commissioner for... -
Bahrain to criminalize protester assault on police officers
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 10:18pm MSK
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[JURIST] State media for Bahrain announced on Sunday that new measures will be taken against protesters [BNA report] in light of recent violence against police officers. Acting under the orders of Prime Minister and Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa [official profile], the Cabinet of Bahrain [official website, in Arabic] will soon amend the penal code to include a 15-year prison sentence for "instigators and implementers" of physical assault against police officers. The BNA report denied that recent protests have been meritorious:The cabinet expressed sorrow in view of the increasingly growing provocative calls which instigate the targeting of security personnel—these... -
UN Secretary General demands Africa countries respect gay rights
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 7:34pm MSK
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[JURIST] UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon [official profile] said in a statement [text] delivered Sunday to the African Union Summit that Africa must honor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [text] by ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Many African nations still outlaw homosexuality. As of 2011, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) [advocacy website] State-Sponsored Homophobia report [text, PDF], 76 countries still criminalize same-sex relationships, and five enforce the death penalty against homosexuals. Ban called for an end to this discrimination as part of Africa's further "investments in civil, political, economic,... -
Tenth Circuit rules criminalizing false claims of military honors constitutional
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 3:50am MSK
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[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] on Friday that the Stolen Valor Act (SVA) [text], which criminalizes the act of falsely claiming to have received a medal from the US military, is constitutional and not a violation of the First Amendment [text] right to freedom of speech. The SVA imposes a six month prison sentence on anyone who falsely claims to have received a military service medal or a one year sentence if the individual claimed to have received a Congressional Medal of Honor [official website]. The court stated that "knowingly... -
UN: Maldives must release or charge arrested judge
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 3:33am MSK
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[JURIST] The UN told Maldives on Saturday that Judge Abdulla Mohamed must either be charged or released from indefinite detention. Mohamed was arrested for corruption [JURIST report] in an unprecedented move by the military, following a ruling to release a government critic. Mohamed is also accused of obstructing police investigations and having ties to organized crime [Minivan News report]. The arrest has sparked street protests and prompted all the country's courts to boycott sessions. The Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs [official website] asked the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] for help resolving the issue... -
Italy must end violence against women: UN
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 2:42am MSK
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[JURIST] A UN expert on violence against women urged [press release; official statement] Italy on Friday that it must do more to end violence against women, primarily by focusing at underlying causes of gender discrimination in Italian society. UN Special Rapporteur Rashida Manjoo [official profile] made her recommendation after a 12-day visit to Italy [UN News Centre report] during which she met with multiple survivors of domestic violence. Manjoo emphasized that the current poor economic climate in Italy is no justification for violence against women and that the country has many resources available to women, such as psychological and economic... -
Netherlands to ban burqa
Posted: January 29th, 2012, 2:07am MSK
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[JURIST] The Cabinet of the Netherlands announced on Friday that a ban on burqas [JURIST news archive] in the Netherlands will go forward later this year. The ban, proposed in September [JURIST report] and heavily supported by Geert Wilders' [personal website; JURIST news archive] anti-Islam Freedom Party, is aimed at prohibiting burqas and other face coverings. Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Verhagen [official profile, in Dutch] denied that the ban was meant for religious clothing [Reuters report] and noted that the ban will also include motorcycle helmets and balaclavas when they are worn in inappropriate locations. The proposed legislation will not... -
BP ordered to share partial liability with Transocean in oil spill claims
Posted: January 28th, 2012, 12:21am MSK
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[JURIST] Judge Carl Barber of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana [official website] Thursday issued an order [text, PDF] that British Petroleum (BP) [corporate website] will be held liable for a portion of the damages owed by Transocean [corporate website] stemming from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. BP will be required to indemnify Transocean against damages created by the pollution itself that are awarded throughout the litigation [materials] pending against it. BP will not be required to pay an punitive damages or civil fines as a result of these suits. The... -
Guatemala court orders ex-dictator to stand trial
Posted: January 27th, 2012, 9:22pm MSK
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[JURIST] Guatemalan Judge Carol Flores ruled Thursday that ex-dictator Rios Montt must stand trial for charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. The judge heard the prosecutor's initial statements Wednesday and decided Thursday that the evidence was sufficient to go to trial. Montt is being charged for crimes committed throughout the country's 36-year civil war [BBC timeline], which officially ended in 1996. Montt was a general in the military who became dictator after a coup in 1982 but lost power a year later as a result of another coup. His charges are based on 72 incidents that caused 1,771 deaths... -
US lawmakers request information on new Google privacy policy
Posted: January 27th, 2012, 9:20pm MSK
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[JURIST] US Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) [official website; press release] and seven other lawmakers Thursday sent a letter [text, PDF] to Google CEO Larry Page [NYT backgrounder] containing 11 questions regarding consumer privacy rights as affected by Google's new privacy policies [corporate website]. The letter states that the privacy policy and Google's consolidated data sharing system raise questions about whether consumers can opt out of the new system, either globally or on a product-by-product basis. As Co-Chairman of the Congressional Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, Markey also expressed concerns as to whether Google's new policies violate the settlement [JURIST report] reached with...