[JURIST] Lawyers for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] claimed Saturday that a man attacked the former Iraqi leader during a court appearance this week. Defense lawyers stated that at the conclusion of the hearing in front of the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website], the man, who was unidentified, struck Hussein, and that neither the judge in charge nor the American guard did anything to stop the scuffle. US officials, who are charged with Saddam's physical custody, deny that any such incident took place. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Indonesian National Police spokesperson Sunarko Danu Artanto Saturday vehemently denied the allegations made Friday by the US Government Accountability Office [official website] that Indonesian Police [official website, in English and Bahasa Indonesian] engaged in human rights abuses, calling the claims an attempt to prevent the modernization and reform of the force. The GAO reported [abstract] that US trainers working with various Southeast Asian police departments had violated US law by not conducting a check on their human rights records. The Department of Justice spent three years and over $265 million USD working with almost 7,000 police officers from Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Read the full GAO report [PDF]. AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema [official profile] reduced the sentences Friday of three Virginia men convicted of participating in terror training. Brinkeme had been required to sentence members of the "Virginia Jihad" to lengthy prison terms she had called excessive before the Supreme Court's ruling in United States v. Booker [PDF] invalidated mandatory sentencing guidelines. She reduced two sentences by 20 years, and a third by roughly four years. The terms for the three men on firearms counts were Congressionally imposed and thus were not reduced, leaving prison terms at a level Brinkema still described as "really draconian". The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The UN General Assembly's Sicth (Legal) Committee [official website] restarted work on a treaty against international terrorism Friday, motivated by a rash of recent attacks in Egypt and Great Britain. Moroccan Ambassador Mohamed Bennouna said that the committee "has broken the ice", referring to rifts among the panel on the definition of terrorism and the Palestinian peace process. A draft of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism [backgrounder, PDF] has been mired in the committee since 1996. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In California, US District Judge Audrey Collins ruled Friday that the provision of the USA Patriot Act that forbids "assistance" to known terrorist organizations continues to be overly vague, in violation of her 2004 ruling on the same provision [text, PDF]. The lawsuit was filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, who was concerned about the possibility that the Act could theoretically be used to punish humanitarian aid workers in Sri Lanka or Turkey. The ruling did uphold the government's ban on providing "personnel" to terrorist organizations, finding that the definition of "personnel" was clear from other law. AP has more.

[JURIST] By voice vote late Friday the US Senate unanimously approved a bill that would permanently extend most provisions of the USA Patriot Act [text] while limiting it in the most controversial areas. The Senate legislation puts a four-year cap on the two most highly debated measures - the "library provision," which allows the FBI to obtain records from libraries, doctor offices and businesses after receiving approval from the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court [Wikipedia profile], and another that allows roving wiretaps on individuals. The US House of Representatives approved its own extension [JURIST report] to the act earlier this month, but placed a 10-year limitation on the two provisions. The Senate bill will also set stricter requirements for the FBI to seize records, allow people to dispute issued warrants, and require that individuals secretly searched must be told within seven days unless an extension is obtained. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] has voiced its opposition to broad extension of the act, but a spokesperson for the group said [ACLU press release] Friday that "[t]his good faith effort made by Senators, while imperfect, is a good starting point, and is vastly better than its counterpart passed by the House." The Senate and House of Representatives are expected to negotiate a final version of the Patriot Act extension this fall. Read a US Department of Justice press release issued after Senate passage, expressing confidence that "Congress will ultimately send the President a bill that does not undermine the ability of investigators and prosecutors to disrupt terrorist plots and combat terrorism effectively." The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice [official website] said Friday that it has charged Dutch citizen Wasem al Delaema [DOJ press release] with attempting to kill US soldiers in Iraq during October 2003. Iraqi-born al Delaema is a member of the "Fighters of Fallujah", seen on a videotape obtained by Dutch prosecutors showing the group explaining how they set landmines near where US military were expected to be in route. The Justice Department has asked the Dutch government to hand over al Delaema, who was captured on Dutch soil in May, based on the country's extradition treaty with the US. A Dutch Justice Ministry [official website] spokesman said it is a decision for the Dutch courts to decide. Prosecutors must seek an indictment against al Delaema within 60 days. AP has more.

[JURIST] A French court Friday revoked the parental rights of eight individuals convicted for running a child prostitution ring [JURIST report] earlier this week. Sixty-two men and women were convicted for offering forty-five children, ranging in age from six months to fifteen years, for sex from 1999 to 2002. The French court's decision will make the eight parents' children wards of the state, while 14 other parents received limited rights allowing them to still visit their children. The case is considered the country's biggest sex trial [JURIST report] to date. Reuters has more.