[JURIST] Sixteen US House members visited the Guantanamo Bay detention center [JTF-Guantanamo official website] on Saturday, with a Senate delegation to follow. The trip was planned in response to mounting concerns on both sides of the partisan aisle [JURIST report] about alleged human rights violations at the prison. Military officials gave a classified briefing to lawmakers and then led them on a tour. These 16 members join the 77 Congressmen and 11 Senators to have visited the camp since it opened in 2002. AP has more.

[JURIST] Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [Wikipedia profile; campaign website in Farsi], the relatively-moderate cleric and former president of Iran who lost Friday's run-off election to hardline conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [Wikipedia profile, campaign website in Farsi], contended Saturday that there had been what he called "organized and illegal" efforts to ensure his defeat. Rafsanjani, president from 1989 to 1997, ran on a platform calling for better relations with the West. Despite his misgivings, however, he said he he will not dispute the result, favoring Ahmadinejad won with 62% of votes cast amid high turnout [Wikipedia report]. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei [official website in English] called the result a "profound humiliation" for the United States, which has expressed concern about the lack of democratic safeguards in the Iranian electoral process [JURIST report]. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A bill due to be considered in the Russian state Duma next week would allow Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website] to circumvent the two-term limit on presidents set by the Russian Constitution [text in English]. The legislative amendment introduced Thursday by United Russia [party website in Russian] lawmaker Alexander Moskalets would allow Putin to run again if he stepped down before his second term concluded in 2008 and the election in that year (in which he could not participate) was declared invalid. Critics of Putin's administration, who have long speculated he would attempt to stay in power after his second term, have described the legislation as self-serving attempt to retain office at the expense of the Constitution. AP has more. MosNews has local coverage.

[JURIST] Afghanistan began to register voters Saturday for the parliamentary elections scheduled for September 18, a day after UN Special Representative Jean Arnault [official profile] told the UN Security Council that greater security will be necessary [excerpt of statement] to prevent violence at the polls. The Wolesi Jirga and Provincial Council election [background briefing, PDF] has been threatened by the Taliban and regional militants attempting to gain power. Increased security will come from the 20,000 US soldiers already in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban and 8,300 NATO peacekeepers whose number may be increased by another 2,000 [NATO update]. The Joint Electoral Management Body [official website] hopes to register approximately two million voters over the next month. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] An Italian judge ruled Saturday that Calisto Tanzi [profile], founder and CEO of Italian dairy and juice company Parmalat [corporate website], will stand trial in the $18 billion fraud case that caused the company's downfall. Parmalat Finanziaria SpA admitted in 2003 that a $5 billion account with Bank of America was fake, leading investors to lose their savings accounts. The judge also ordered Italian Bank of America [corporate website] executives, Grant Thornton [corporate website], and the company's auditors Deloitte & Touche [corporate website in Italian] to stand trial. Enrico Bondi, appointed by the Italian government as a special administrator covering the Parmalat scandal, has also filed claims against several Italian and international banks. Earlier this week, Morgan Stanley [official website] agreed to settle [JURIST report] with Parmalat by paying $187 million. The trial against Tanzi is expected to start in Milan this September. AP has more.

[JURIST] A jury found Donald Fell guilty for murder in federal court Friday allowing the jurors to next determine if he should receive the death penalty, which has not been applied in Vermont for nearly 50 years. In November 2000, Fell and his friend kidnapped Terry King in Vermont and killed her in New York, and because they crossed state lines with King, the case was brought in federal court [JURIST report]. Vermont has no death penalty under state law, but the federal charges for kidnapping with death resulting and carjacking with death resulting allow the jury contemplate a death sentence in the next phase of the trial. The sentencing process is expected to start Tuesday. From Vermont, the Burlington Free Press has more.