Pakistan party talks on restoring judges fail despite US intervention[JURIST] Talks between Pakistani party leaders meeting in London to discuss a parliamentary resolution to restore superior court judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf under his proclamation of emergency last November collapsed Sunday despite last-minute intervention by a US envoy. US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Richard Boucher met separately with Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nazaz (PML-N) leader and former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but was unable to bridge the gap between them. Sharif stayed on in London Sunday but is now returning to Pakistan. He had originally announced after talks with the PPP in Dubai last month that the judges would be restored May 12, but that deadline is now certain to be missed. The two parties continue to disagree on the terms of the reinstatement and what to do with replacement judges sworn in by Musharraf under his Provisional Constitution Order.
JURIST's Pakistan correspondent says that with the failure of the talks Sharif is likely to step out of Pakistan's coalition cabinet. The reaction of Pakistan's lawyers' movement to the missed deadline is expected to be sharp.
DOJ Blackwater probe focused on guards, not company: AP[JURIST] Blackwater Worldwide is not likely to face criminal charges in connection with a September 16 shooting in Baghdad in which 14 Iraqi civilians were killed, AP reported Saturday, citing a half-dozen individuals closely associated with a US Department of Justice probe. The sources told AP that the investigation was concentrating on three or four individual Blackwater guards. No recommendation on charges against them is likely until late this summer. Last month the US State Department renewed its diplomatic security contract with Blackwater. AP has more.
Bringing criminal charges against the Blackwater employees would require surmounting numerous legal hurdles, DOJ officials reportedly told Congress during a private meeting in December. The Blackwater allegations have caused domestic outrage in Iraq and have prompted legal controversy in the US. In November, the New York Times and the Washington Post reported that an FBI investigation into the incident concluded that the shootings were unjustified {JURIST report].
Stevens suggests Derby horse euthanized more humanely than prisoners[JURIST] US Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens suggested to a gathering of lawyers and judges Friday in Tennessee that the Kentucky Derby horse Eight Belles may have been euthanized more humanely than some prisoners. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported Stevens had been surprised to find out that one of the three drugs authorized for lethal injections of death row convicts was in fact banned on horses. "I had checked the procedure they used to kill the horse, Stevens said. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has more.
Last month the Supreme Court ruled in Baze v. Rees that Kentucky's lethal injection protocol did not infringe the Eight Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Stevens concurred in the judgment. Suspended lethal injection executions resumed in the US last week in the wake of Baze, with Georgia putting to death William Earl Lynd, who was convicted of the 1988 murder of his girlfriend. The horse Eight Belles was euthanized on the track following the May 4 Kentucky Derby, having broke both of its front ankles.
Top Pentagon legal adviser disqualified from Guantanamo trial: NYT[JURIST] A US military judge has ruled that US Air Force Reserve Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, a top Pentagon legal adviser on the Guantanamo military commission trials, is ineligible to participate in the first military commission trial of a detainee because he is too closely associated with the prosecution, the New York Times reported Saturday. The Times said it had a copy of the decision by Navy Capt. Keith Allred, although it had not been publicly released. The paper quoted Allred as concluding that "National attention focused on this dispute has seriously called into question the legal adviser's ability to continue to perform his duties in a neutral and objective manner". Hartmann is legal adviser to Susan J. Crawford, the Convening Authority for the military commissions. The New York Times has more.
Earlier this year former Guantanamo prosecutor Air Force Col. Morris D. Davis made headlines when he said in the wake of his resignation that Hartmann had questioned the need for open trials at Guantanamo and was upset with the slow pace of the proceedings begun by Davis. In a subsequent Los Angeles Times op-ed, Hartman said that the slow progress that frustrated Davis was an unavoidable part of a careful judicial process and rejected Davis' allegations that aspects of the military commissions were being intentionally hidden from the public. Last month, Davis testified at a pre-trial hearing for Guantanamo detainee Salim Hamdan that Hartmann had pressured him to move forward with military commissions quickly "before the election" or else "this thing's going to implode."
Pakistan facing uncertainty as second deadline for restoring judges approaches[JURIST] Pakistani ministers and officials scrambled Sunday as a second deadline for restoring judges ousted by President Pervez Musharraf in November loomed with little prospect of being met. An aide to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has pressed hard for the reinstatement, was quoted by AP as saying that an "acceptable solution" would be worked out by party leaders still in London after talks that began late last week, but JURIST's Pakistan correspondent says that with Sharif scheduled to return to Pakistan Sunday morning a deal on a parliamentary resolution with his coalition partners in the Pakistan People's Party by May 12 is unlikely. Responding to a Sharif suggestion that police could escort the judges back to work under a simple executive order, Information Minister Sherry Rehman told AP that such a move risked a "political and constitutional crisis." Musharraf has also let it be known that he would oppose a restoration on those terms, and might even seek a Supreme Court stay against such an order were it issued. AP has more.
Pakistani Law Minister Farooq Naek said Friday that the governing coalition was unlikely to meet the May 12 deadline. JURIST's Pakistan correspondent says that if the deadline passes without agreement Sharif is likely to step out of the coalition cabinet.
Myanmar holds constitution referendum amid cyclone chaos[JURIST] The military junta of Myanmar held a national referendum on a draft constitution Saturday despite sharp international criticism for going ahead with the poll after a devastating cyclone last weekend left at least 60,000 people dead or missing. Voting in the hardest-hit areas has been delayed until later this month, but state media encouraged citizens to turn out with enthusiastic videos and patriotic songs. Some local journalists said, however, that they witnessed many irregularities in the voting, with people voting multiple times or not having the privacy of a truly secret ballot. No official results have yet been announced but the vote is widely expected to result in an overwhelming endorsement of a document presented by the military government as an essential element of its "roadmap" to democracy. AP has more.
The National League for Democracy and other opposition groups have labelled the referendum a "sham" to legalize military rule. The draft constitution reportedly reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for the military and would also block pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from seeking office. Myanmar has been governed without a constitution since the military regime took power in 1988 and talks on a new national charter have been underway for 14 years. The last general elections in Myanmar were held in 1990. The NLD, led by Suu Kyi, won that election easily, but the ruling military government did not recognize the result and placed Suu Kyi under house arrest.
Peru prosecutors complain Fujimori showing 'lack of respect' in rights trial[JURIST] Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, currently on trial for human rights violations during his three terms in office from 1990-2000, is showing lack of respect for the court and the trial process by his courtroom behavior, Peruvian prosecutors said Friday. Earlier this week Fujimori burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter after hearing military witnesses testify that they had spied on him through a keyhole; prosecutors also contend he has fallen asleep and even plotted his political comeback in court in total disregard of the seriousness of the charges against him. Xinhua has more.
Last month the Supreme Court of Peru upheld a prison sentence imposed on Fujimori after his separate conviction late last year on charges of abuse of authority for ordering a warrantless search of the apartment of the wife of former Peruvian Intelligence Director Vladimiro Montesino. The high court at that time also upheld a $135,000 fine for rights violations that occurred during the search.
Japan lower house passes bill lifting restrictions on space militarization[JURIST] Japan's House of Representatives Friday approved a measure easing legal restrictions on placing Japanese military technology in space. The House of Councillors is expected to pass the bill as well. MPs say that current rules, established in 1969, hamper innovation at Japanese firms, but some believe that the plan is a response to a January weapons test by China that destroyed a weather satellite. Consistent with the principles of their post-World War II pacifist constitution, Japanese lawmakers say that they still oppose launching actual weapons into space. AFP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.
Many countries have criticized China's January missile test, saying that it could induce future arms movements into space. In October 2006, US President George W. Bush authorized the first changes to the US space policy in nearly 10 years by asserting authority to deny access to space to any adversary hostile to US interests. In 2002, China and Russia jointly proposed an explicit ban on weapons in space, but the US opposed the measure, arguing that the 1967 Outer Space Treaty already provided enough protection against the practice.
Pakistan leaders fail to agree on resolution restoring ousted judges as new deadline looms[JURIST] Talks between the leaders of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in London Friday failed to produce an agreement on a draft resolution for reinstating judges ousted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf last year, but party members pledged to continue negotiations. A panel convened last week pursuant to an initial deal struck by the leaders in Dubai completed a draft parliamentary resolution to restore the judges, but disagreements on implementation among panel members meant that the resolution had to go the top leadership of the PPP and the PML-N for approval before being submitted to the Pakistani parliament.
On Monday, retired Justice Fakhruddin Ibrahim quit the drafting panel, citing the "non-serious attitude" of fellow panel members and "unconstitutional" efforts by the PPP to retain judges who had endorsed Musharraf's declaration of emergency last year. Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif initially said that the judges would be restored May 12, but Pakistani Law Minister Farooq Naek said Friday that the governing coalition will be unlikely to meet that deadline. JURIST's Pakistan correspondent says that if the deadline passes without agreement Sharif is likely to step out of the coaliton cabinet. The Pakistan Newspaper has more. UPI has additional coverage.
Anthrax reporter appeals contempt of court order for not revealing sources[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral arguments Friday in the appeal by former USA Today reporter Toni Locy against sanctions imposed on her for refusing to disclose government sources who provided information about former US Army germ-warfare researcher Dr. Steven J. Hatfill. In a March ruling, US District Judge Reggie Walton found Locy in contempt of court and ordered that, beginning March 11, Locy pay a fine of $500 a day; the fine was due to increase to $1000 a day after one week and then up to $5000 a day after two weeks. Walton refused to delay the sanctions until Locy could file an appeal and also ruled that Locy cannot accept reimbursement for the monetary sanctions. The appeals court later granted an emergency stay against the monetary sanctions while Locy pursued her appeal. Locy's lawyers said that she is unable to pay the fines and categorized the sanctions as "destructive," arguing that Walton had abused his discretion. On Friday, the court appeared receptive to the argument.
Locy, currently a journalism professor at West Virginia University, has refused to cooperate in Hatfill's suit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) for its alleged violation of the US Privacy Act, arguing that the information Hatfill is seeking has not been demonstrated to be central to the lawsuit. Hatfill was identified as a "person of interest" in the investigations of the 2001 anthrax attacks. He contends that FBI and DOJ officials violated federal privacy laws by providing personal information and information about the investigation to journalists. AP has more.Editor's Note: Toni Locy served as a JURIST student staff member while pursuing her MSL at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2006-07.
Microsoft appeals EU antitrust fine[JURIST] Microsoft announced Friday that it has filed an appeal with the European Court of First Instance in hopes that it will annul the record fine of 899 million euros ($1.3 billion). The penalty was imposed after Microsoft failed to comply with a 2004 landmark ruling requiring the software giant to share technical information with competitors and lower its prices. CNN Money has more.
Microsoft dropped an appeal to the 2004 decision in October 2007, one month after the European Court of First Instance upheld the 2004 ruling. In response to the European decision and other judgments, the corporation has instituted an Antitrust Compliance Committee. In January, the European Commission began an investigation into new allegations that Microsoft has misused its market position.
EU parliament head slams possible court ban of Turkish ruling party[JURIST] European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering Thursday slammed a bid by Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya to have the country's ruling Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) legally dissolved for not respecting Turkey's strict secular principles. Poettering said it would be "absurd" for the Constitutional Court of Turkey to close the party as it had come to power through democratic means. On Wednesday, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called for the Turkey to respect democratic principles in what was considered a message of support for the government. Rehn has previously warned that the closure of the AKP could have could be serious ramifications for Turkey's bid to join the European Union. MSNBC has more.
In March, Yalcinkaya petitioned the court to disband the AKP and bar Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul from political office. The AKP filed a response to the dissolution petition last week, arguing that shutting down the party would leave a political void and endanger Turkey's democracy.
Bismullah 'enemy combatant' status to be reviewed in light of 'new evidence'[JURIST] The US Department of Justice indicated Thursday that the Pentagon will review the "enemy combatant" status of Afghan Guantanamo detainee and US federal court litigant Haji Bismullah in light of what was referred to as "new evidence," according to SCOTUSblog. The notification came in a motion asking the US Circuit Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit to remand his federal court case to the Pentagon or hold it in abeyance. Last July, a three-judge panel of the appeals court ruled that federal appeals courts reviewing enemy combatant designations under the Detainee Treatment Act must review all evidence regarding that detainee, rejecting the government's argument that it should only have to turn over the same evidence as presented to a detainee's Combatant Status Review Tribunal. The government has appealed to the US Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled on the certiorari petition in the case. SCOTUSblog has more.
The future of Gates v. Bismullah may be affected by a ruling in Boumediene v. Bush (06-1195), another case on appeal from the DC Circuit already pending before the Supreme Court. In Boumediene, the Court is considering whether Guantanamo detainees should be allowed to challenge their detentions in federal court.
Some Guantanamo detainees could pose threat if released: Gates[JURIST] US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that a number of current Guantanamo Bay detainees would pose a new threat to the US if they were returned to their home countries. Of the 500 inmates who have been released from the detention facility, Gates said Pentagon data shows that between 5-10% of detainees "return to the battlefield" after being released.
Gates, who has been a proponent of closing the base, added:I think we do as careful a vetting job as we possibly can before releasing these people. There are a lot of -- there are a lot of prisoners down there, frankly, that we would be prepared to turn over to their home government, but the home government isn't prepared to receive them, or we don't have any confidence that if they still need to be incarcerated, that the home government will keep them incarcerated. So there are actually a fair number of the prisoners at Guantanamo that we would be prepared to send home if we had -- if their government would accept them and -- or if we had confidence that the government would continue to keep them incarcerated.Gates' comments came in response to earlier reports that one former detainee, Abdullah Saleh al-Ajmi, was responsible for an April suicide attack targeted at security forces in Mosul, Iraq. Al-Ajmi had been captured in Afghanistan in 2002, but was released to the custody of his home country, Kuwait, in May 2006. Upon his return, a Kuwaiti court acquitted and freed al-Ajmi and four other former detainees accused of being al Qaeda members or of raising money for the terrorist group. Reuters has more. AP has additional coverage.
Myanmar junta urges citizens to approve constitution in weekend referendum[JURIST] Myanmar's ruling junta Friday urged the country's citizens to approve the military-backed draft constitution in an upcoming Saturday national referendum that the government has refused to reschedule despite a devastating cyclone last week that may have left up to 100,000 people dead. The United Nations estimates that another 1.5 million people have been "severely affected," but the Myanmar regime has thusfar blocked international aid efforts. Reports have also surfaced that a riot broke out after the storm in a notorious Rangoon prison used to hold political dissidents; soldiers and police reportedly opened fire on the rioters, killing 36.
Myanmar opposition groups and international figures have slammed the government's decision to go forward with the vote under the circumstances. On Wednesday, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering condemned the decision, while the National League for Democracy Tuesday derided it as "extremely unacceptable." Myanmar state media have reported that Saturday's vote will proceed as scheduled in most of the country, although the regime now says that the vote will be postponed in districts hardest hit by the cyclone. Reuters has more.
