[JURIST] The Iraqi prisoner who died while in US custody at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST Hot Topic archive] and whose corpse was shown in photographs that emerged from the abuse scandal died in a position known as "Palestinian hanging" while under CIA interrogation, according to unspecified documents reviewed by the Associated Press and reported Thursday. Manadel al-Jamadi's death was ruled a homicide and the US military never revealed the exact circumstances, but AP says that reports show that he died while suspended by his wrists, which were handcuffed behind his back. The stress position has been condemned by human rights groups as torture, and the European Court of Human Rights [official website] found Turkey guilty of torture in 1996 in a case involving the same technique [Aksoy v. Turkey summary]. Photos of Abu Ghraib prison guards smiling over al-Jamadi's body emerged last summer and led to the conviction of Spc. Charles Graner [JURIST report] for abusing detainees. AP has more.

[JURIST] Citing a need for additional protections in light of advances in understanding the human genetic code, the Senate on Thursday unanimously approved the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005 [PDF text] aimed at preventing employers and health insurers from discriminating against people who have a genetic predisposition to disease. Employers will be barred from basing hiring and firing decisions on genetic risk or predisposition to disease, while health insurers will not be permitted to deny coverage based on genetic information. The bill, which also has the backing of the White House, is opposed by business interests and the US Chamber of Commerce [official website]; however, bill sponsors in the House are optimistic that the bill will pass thanks to bipartisan support, despite resistance from a small group of members. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi [CBC profile] Thursday warned the Shiite coalition victorious in last month's election [JURIST report] against banning the Ba'ath Party [Wikipedia entry; 2002 Le Monde backgrounder in English] formerly associated with Saddam Hussein from any involvement in government, saying that would cause even greater upheaval and unrest in the region. In an AP interview, Allawi appealed for national unity, and urged the Shiite grouping to exercise restraint in implementing its policies in the name of peace and stability as the nation embarks on democracy. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Thursday's corporations and securities law news, the SEC [official website] has concluded Bear Stearns Cos. [corporate website], the sixth-largest US securities firm, violated federal laws which protect investors when it aided brokers in making illegal after-hours mutual-fund trades. The SEC may announce today that it has reached a settlement with Brean Murray & Co. [corporate website], a New York brokerage. Under the terms of the settlement Brean Murray will pay $150,000 to settle allegations it aided violations made by an unnamed clearing firm that processed trades. The clearing firm is Bear Stearns. Bloomberg has more.

In other news...

• The Justice Department's antitrust division [official website] has started an investigation into railroad coal pricing practices at Union Pacific Corp. [corporate website] and BNSF Railway Co. [corporate website]. Coal-industry trade publications are reporting BNSF and rival Union Pacific are trying to raise rates as they come into public pricing. Both companies indicate they will cooperate with the probe. AP has more.
  
  
• The SEC has started into Bancinsurance Corp. [corporate website] over its accounting practices. The practices gained scrutiny after the company's independent auditor, Ernst & Young [corporate website], withdrew its approval for financial reports for 2001 to 2003. Columbus Business First has more.
  
  
• Yukos [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic archive] CEO Steve Theede is hopeful of making a deal with the Russian government over the multi-billion dollar back taxes owed before the auction of Yukos' key production unit. Yukos is currently fighting to gain jurisdiction in a US bankruptcy court to avoid having to conduct litigation in unfriendly Russian courts. Yukos is attempting gain bankruptcy protection in the US despite its lack of assets beyond two bank accounts of borrowed funds. AP has more.
  
  
• A Ukranian court has found the sell-off of a Ukrainian steel mill, Krivorizhstal, to be illegal. Krivorizhstal had been sold cheaply to friends of the previous Ukranian administration. New President Viktor Yushchenko [official website; English version] indicates the new administration will revisit many of the recent privatizations. BBC News has more.
  
  
• The injunction and asset freeze against Mutual Benefits Corp., one of the nation's largest death benefit companies, has been extended. The SEC accused the company of defrauding up to 30,000 investors out of more than $1 billion in securities sold since 1994. Read more about the fraud at Mutual Benefits Corp. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] has approved the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 [bill summary], a bill intended to curb class action lawsuits by transfering most large, multi-state class actions to federal courts. The bill now goes to President Bush for expected signature. AP has more.

2:20 PM ET - House Judiciary Committee chairman James Sensenbrener gave this floor statement on the act earlier today [press release].

[JURIST] Six Rwandan citizens have filed a lawsuit in France against French soldiers for their role in the Rwanda genocide [Wikipedia profile]. The Paris army tribunal, the only court which can try French troops for conduct committed abroad, will decide whether to take the case. According to the plaintiffs, French troops allowed Rwandan troops and Hutu [Wikipedia profile] extremists to enter Tutsi [Wikipedia profile] refugee camps, demonstrating French troops' active participation in the genocide. French troops had been deployed in southwestern Rwanda to create a safe haven for the Tutsis. Close to one million people, mostly Tutsis and moderate Hutus, died in the violence. France has denied any responsibility. BBC News has more and continuing coverage of Rwanda genocide issues. From Paris, Le Monde provides local coverage of the lawsuit.

[JURIST] Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz [BBC News profile] Thursday ordered a halt to the razing of homes of Palestinian suicide bombers after a committee report showed that the policy had little deterrent effect and inflamed tensions with Palestinians. The policy was initiated in 2002 in an attempt to deter terrorists who did not want to leave their families homeless or to encourage families to turn in those plotting attacks. Under the plan, about 270 homes were destroyed. Israeli and international human rights groups have repeatly objected to the policy, condemning it [B'Tselem backgrounder] as a form of collective punishment affecting innocent individuals apart from alleged wrongdoers. The Defense Ministry review did not include house demolitions in the Gaza Strip, which the Israeli army were necessary for security purposes. Read an Israeli Defense Forces' press release on the decision. From Israel, Haaretz has local coverage. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A British permanent resident being held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST Hot Topic] has been blinded in one eye after an assault by guards at the prison, according to his lawyer. UK human rights attorney Clive Stafford Smith said that Omar Deghayes [Cageprisoners.com profile] lost sight in one eye after prison guards put pepper spray in his eyes and gouged one of them. Smith did not say why guards had assaulted Deghayes, although investigators suspect him of complicity in the Madrid bombings and the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The family of the 35-year-old came to Britain after fleeing Libya in 1986; Deghayes studied law in the UK there before moving after Sept. 11 to Afghanistan and then Pakistan, where he was arrested. He has applied for UK citizenship. The British government has not yet sought the release [BBC News report] of seven non-national UK residents [BBC News profile] being held at Guantanamo, despite pressure from activists. Deghayes' family pleaded for the UK government [BBC News report] to seek his release and for him to receive justice. Australian Broadcasting Corporation News has more.

[JURIST] In Thursday's international law brief, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile] presented the findings of the International Commission of Inquiry on the Conflict in Darfur [PDF report] to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, stating that the only 'credible way' to address the atrocities was to try those accused of serious human rights abuses before the International Criminal Court [official website]. Both Sudan and the US oppose the use of the ICC. Arbour's report found that the Khartoum government had been seriously complicit in the hiring of Janjaweed militias that were responsible for numerous atrocities in Darfur, but that the Commission could not hold that genocide had occurred because of a lack of evidence of specific intent. UN News Centre has more.

In a related development, Sudanese officials met with Darfur rebel leaders Thursday in Chad to attempt to bring an end to the Darfur conflict, which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan referred to Wednesday as "hell on earth". The talks were organized by international mediators and the African Union, and were held in the capital N'Djamena. Sudan [government website] has come under increasing international pressure to resolve the Darfur situation, especially in light of the successful negotiations with the newly autonomous South Sudan [official website]. The goal of the talks was stated as reinforcing the oft-violated cease-fire between the two sides, opening up full political negotiations on a permanent truce, and developing means to create an effective check on whether both sides are upholding their end of the deal. Both of the main rebel groups in Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement [faction website], attended the negotiations, the first time that both major rebel groups and the central government have met together. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage [JURIST Countries archive] of the Sudan crisis. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• Togo President Faure Gnassingbe [BBC profile] flew to Nigeria Thurday to meet with Nigerian President and current African Union Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo. The meeting is likely to address the practical considerations of how quickly Togo [government website in French] can hold presidential elections and see a new president in office. Togolese officials caved in to immense international pressure [JURIST report] Wednesday, and agreed to hold new elections and restore the country's constitution to its orginal form. Faure was expected to announce the new elections late Wednsday night on national television, but no government announcement of the proposed election has been made. Togolese officials announced that a statement would be released following the conclusion of the closed-door meeting. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage [JURIST Countries archive] of Togo. Republique Togolaise, the official government news website, has local coverage.
  
  
• The Organization of American States [official website] opened the Fifth Annual Session [official website] of the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism [official website] in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday. Acting OAS Secretary-General Luigi R. Einaudi [official profile] called for the body to fulfill its work schedule, which called for recommendations on areas such as border control, money laundering, and cybersecurity. Read the Draft Agenda [DOC]. Read the OAS official press release.

[JURIST] Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz [official profile] said Thursday that he had decided to close a three-year investigation into a campaign funding scandal involving Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon [official website], citing insufficient evidence. Sharon's son and close advisor Omri Sharon has, however, will be indicted on criminal charges including fraud, breach of trust, and perjury. Omri Sharon's parliamentary immunity will have to be lifted by the Knesset [official website] before a trial can go forward. He could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. The campaign funding investigation began following allegations that Sharon had been involved in setting up shell companies to funnel foreign donation to his 1999 campaign. Israel prohibits foreign funding of political campaigns. Sharon had denied any wrongdoing in the funding case, indicating his two sons alone handled financing for his 1999 primary campaign. Sharon and his sons still face an investigation into allegations that they received a $1.5 million loan from a South African businessman to repay alleged illicit contributions made during his campaign. Reuters has more. The Jerusalem Post provides local coverage.

[JURIST] CBS News is reporting that President Bush is naming John Negroponte [official profile], US ambassador to Iraq and former US ambassador to the UN, as the nation's first National Intelligence Director [White House background briefing on position; Congressional Research Service paper [PDF]] under the new intelligence reform legislation signed into law [JURIST report] late last year. Watch a live webcast from the White House.

[JURIST] New York-based monitoring group Human Rights Watch [official website] said Thursday that new documents it recovered in Iraq after the US-led invasion show that Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as "Chemical Ali" [BBC profile] for his alleged role in the gassing of Iraqi Kurds in the late 1980s, was involved in the massacre of at least 120 men during a ant-Saddam revolt in Basra in 1999 [text]. The information could lead to a new charges against several members of Saddam Hussein's [Wikipedia profile; JURIST Newsmaker] Baath Party, including Majid himself. Hussein is believed to have ordered the 1999 assassination of revered Shiite cleric Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr [Wikipedia profile] which led to an uprising in the south of the country. Human Rights Watch says Majid supervised the systematic executions, arbitrary arrests, and widespread torture that followed. Majid could be among the first of Hussein's inner circle to go to trial before the Iraqi Special Tribunal [governing statute] for war crimes which could result in a sentence of death. Read the Human Rights Watch report and recommendations for the Iraqi government. AFP has more.

[JURIST] US District Court Judge Ted Stewart Wednesday refused to strike down Utah's ban on polygamy, turning back a suit brought by a Utah man who wanted to add another wife to his marriage. Stewart said the state has an interest in protecting monogamous marriage and that the current law did not violate religious and privacy rights of individuals. His decision was the latest reassertion of legal authority going back to 1878 Reynolds case [text], which upheld the criminal conviction of a Mormon man in the state for polygamist practice. Stewart also rejected the plaintiff's assertion that the 2003 US Supreme Court opinion in Lawrence v. Texas [PDF], which overturned an anti-sodomy law as a violation of the privacy of consenting adults, extended to polygamy in Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [official website] officially ended the practice of polygamy in 1890 and the Utah Constitution [text] banned plural marriage as a condition for the state to join the union. The Salt Lake Tribune has more.

[JURIST] Amnesty International [official website] said Thursday that the recent imposition of emergency rule in Nepal by King Gyanendra [BBC profile] has taken the country to the "brink of disaster" and that the human rights crisis in the country could turn into a "catastrophe". The Nepalese government has disputed the AI statement, claiming the state of emergency [JURIST report] was necessary to combat the Maoist insurgency and create political stability. Amnesty head Irene Khan is urging donor nations to suspend military aid to the country, and also called on the Maoist rebels to respect international human rights laws and to stop targeting civilians. The new royal government is already facing international pressure as India, Britain, and the United States have all recalled their ambassadors. Read the Amnesty press release detailing its demands of the Nepalese government. AP has more.

[JURIST] Lea Fastow, wife of former Enron [corporate website; JURIST Hot Topic archive] chief financial officer Andrew Fastow [Wikipedia profile], is asking for an early release from prison. Fastow's attorney has requested that US District Court Judge David Hittner vacate her one-year prison term after pleading guilty to willfully delivering a 2000 income tax return which she knew to be fraudulent. Fastow admitted to lying about income she received from an Enron side deal which was disguised as a gift on the tax return. While the charges do not directly relate to the Enron collapse, prosecutors pursued the charges as a way to pressure her husband to cooperate with investigators. Fastow's sentence is twice the normal sentence imposed. Prosecutors counter by saying Fastow's cooperation with the government does not raise to the level where she should receive an early release. If the judge rules in favor of Fastow, she could be released as early as Monday. Read Fastow's original indictment [PDF] and plea bargain [PDF]. The Houston Chronicle has more on this story, as well as continuing coverage of the Enron collapse.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that Iraq's electoral commission [official website, English version] has certified the final results of the January 30 election, giving a Shiite Muslim grouping the most seats of any party in the new National Assembly.

12:45 PM ET - United Iraqi Alliance leaders have reportedly failed to come to agreement on a candidate for prime minister. Leaders will instead decide a two-man race between Ibrahim al-Jafari and Ahmad Chalabi [BBC News profiles] by secret ballot on Friday. Although the United Iraqi Alliance party won a numeric majority of seats in the national assembly, according to official results released [Reuters report] Thursday, the party lacks the two-thirds majority needed to act in the drafting of the country's constitution. The party is expected to form a coalition with the leading Kurdish party, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [official website]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Here's a run-down of law-related events, expected developments and live webcasts on JURIST's docket for Thursday, Feb. 17.

On Capitol Hill, the US Senate [official website] meets at 10 AM ET today, when it will consider S. 5 [bill summary], the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2005. Watch a live webcast of the session. The Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] will hold a business meeting at 9:30 AM ET to consider amendments in S. 256, which would alter Title 11 [text] of the US Code. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee [official website] National Parks Subcommittee is holding a 2:30 PM ET hearing on the implementation of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act [text, PDF]. Watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The US House [official website] convenes at 10 AM ET, and it will consider S. 5 [text, PDF], the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005. Watch a live webcast of proceedings. The House Judiciary Committee [official website] Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee is holding a hearing at 9:30 AT ET, at which it will consider H.R. 683 [bill summary], the Trademark Dilution Revision Act of 2005. View the hearing agenda [text]. The House Small Business Committee [official website] is holding a hearing at 10 AM ET, when it will consider H.R. 534 [bill summary], the Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2005. Watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The Federal Communications Commission [official website] is holding a telecommunications services priority summit today from 9:30 AM to 12 Noon ET. Read the meeting notice [text, PDF], and watch a live webcast of the hearing.

The Heritage Foundation is holding a lecture [event details] titled "Judicial Usurpation and the Constitution: Historical and Contemporary Issues," at 12 Noon ET. Watch a live webcast of the lecture.

The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq [official website] is expected to certify election results [VOA News report] today, with a possible deal reached between political parties on the formation of a new government.

At the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, a hearing will be held in the case of Rahim Ademi and Mirko Norac [ICTY case backgrounder] beginning at 9:15 AM local time [3:15 AM ET], with an afternoon session scheduled for 3 PM local time [9 AM ET]. Watch a live webcast of proceedings.