[JURIST] Two US soldiers have been charged [US DOD press release] with assault, conspiracy to maltreat, and dereliction of duty for allegedly punching two detainees in the chest, shoulders and stomach at a base detention site in southern Afghanistan in early July. The alleged assault did not require medical attention for either detainee. One of the detainees has since been released, while the other was transferred to Bagram, the US military headquarters in Afghanistan. US Army Brigadier General Jack Sterling, deputy commanding general for support of Combined Joint Task Force 76 [official website], stated “[t]he command remains committed to investigate all allegations of misconduct and will hold individuals responsible for their actions consistent with U.S. military law.” The two US soldiers are members of the 926th Engineers Battalion, a reserve unit from Alabama that is still deployed. If court-martialed, their trial will commence at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan. The charges announcement Sunday came just ten days after the military began investigating [JURIST report] television footage apparently showing a group of US soldiers burning the bodies of two dead Taliban rebels. In addition, 15 US soldiers have been charged for the death of two Afghan detainees at Bagram after beatings in 2002. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Australian Government and Prime Minister John Howard [official website] committed Sunday to passing new anti-terror laws before Christmas after weekend meetings to discuss a revised draft [JURIST report] of a proposed anti-terror bill. Howard gave premiers until Monday to respond to the revision after the initial Friday deadline passed, and hopes to introduce the final draft to the Australian parliament this week. Though the full details of the final draft have not been disclosed, the main terms include tough control orders and preventative detention, as well as a provision to give authorities the right to shoot-to-kill suspected terrorists [JURIST report]. The controversial bill has sparked free speech demonstrations outside Howard’s home, but Howard insists the legislation will not curb free speech. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In a bid to facilitate the transition of Iraq detention operations to Iraqi security forces, the US military has opened a new prison [JURIST report] near the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah in northern Iraq. Named Fort Suse, the facility can hold more than 1,700 detainees; it received its first inmates from Abu Ghraib [JURIST news archive] and Camp Bucca [Global Security profile] on October 24. Both detention centers have been criticized for overcrowding, and several riots broke out at Camp Bucca [JURIST report] earlier this year. Major General William Brandenburg, commanding general of detainee operations, said Sunday of the new prison, “[i]t will be the first facility to be completely turned over to Iraqi control” although the complete transition will not take place until the Iraqi’s are “completely confident in their ability to run the facility.” Fort Suse is an old Russian-built army training center that the US military renovated [DOD press release] in two months with 400 workers and a budget of $8 million. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia [JURIST news archive] at The Hague is this week expected to make a final ruling on a bid by accused former Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj [BBC profile] to return to political life in Kosovo pending his scheduled trial in 2007 [JURIST report]. The ICTY allowed Haradinaj to return to politics [JURIST report] two weeks ago, but chief prosecutor Carla Del Ponte [BBC profile] succeeded in temporarily halting the move. Del Ponte opposes the decision because the media attention surrounding Haradinaj will “have a chilling effect on victims and witnesses.” Haradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army, was charged with torture, murder and ethnic cleansing [JURIST report] in March. The current UN administration in Kosovo [UNMIK website] spearheaded the move to lift the ban on politics for Haradinaj because they believe he could play a crucial role in calming political hardliners during talks between Kosovo’s Albanians and Serbs. The UN Security Council approved the beginning of talks [JURIST report] on the future of Kosovo on Monday. Most Albanians hope Haradinaj will help unify Albanians during the talks. Serbs believe the move by the UN mission proves that the war crimes tribunal is biased against Serbs. The Observer has more.

[JURIST] The Jerusalem Magistrate's Court has received the first 30 appeals from Jewish families evacuated [JURIST report] from Gaza under the Israeli disengagement plan [BBC backgrounder] who are complaining about low compensation amounts and delays in payments. The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel is representing the evacuees, who argue that the Evacuation Compensation Law passed earlier this year [JURIST report] and previous decisions by Israel's Supreme Court [official website, English version] entitle them to receive higher compensation payments. The law allows settlers to appeal compensation grants within 45 days and calls for a representative from the attorney general's office to respond. The settlers are also arguing that compensation grants are not being paid to them, despite the fact that the appeals process is not supposed to delay payments already determined by the Disengagement Administration [official website in Hebrew]. The magistrate's court is expected to begin hearing the cases in the next few days. From Israel, Haaretz has local coverage.

[JURIST] The criminal court system in New Orleans still faces an uphill battle as judges and attorneys try to piece together what is left of the 3,000 trials [JURIST report] pending before Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] swept through the city over two months ago. The courthouse basement of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court [official website] held guns, drugs and other items that soaked in the floodwaters for weeks and could be ruined as evidence, which may leave attorneys and judges with no alternative but to set arrested criminals free. Motions have been postponed as lawyers are not certain which jails currently hold their clients and evacuations of citizens have not allowed attorneys to fill the necessary jury pools. Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan said the city has been unable to pay his office, which has forced him to layoff 57 staff employees, and if the situation does not improve Jordan may be forced to fire attorneys next. Additionally, the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] has moved temporarily to Houston [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN-Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) [official website] said Sunday that the results from the country's September legislative election [JURIST report] are being delayed because of investigations into fraud complaints [JURIST report]. The final counts were originally supposed to be announced on October 19, but the slow pace of vote counting pushed the announcement date back to the beginning of November, and now the commission expects a delay of a few more days. A total of 2,300 complaints were filed with the commission, 500 of which stem from allegations of fraud, including ballot box stuffing, intimidation of voters, and fraudulent activities in counting the results. Candidates and their supporters have organized rallies in major cities including Kabul to protest the fraud and earlier this month, approximately fifty election workers were dismissed under suspicion of fraud [JURIST report]. According to provisional results already announced by the commission [JEMB electoral map], dozens of local warlords seem to have won seats in parliament, but this could be balanced out by women candidates who are guaranteed at least 68 of the 249 parliamentary seats. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Federal appellate judges Samuel Alito and Michael Luttig [US News profiles] are reportedly at the top of President Bush's list of possible US Supreme Court nominees to replace the withdrawn Harriet Miers [JURIST news archive] as the President reconsiders the nomination at Camp David this weekend. Republicans have said Bush's short list is similar to the one he reviewed before he chose Miers and includes "highly credentialed, solidly conservative" judges. Conservatives are looking for a pick with judicial philosophies similar to Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, and Alito and Luttig seem to fit that mold. Alito, a judge on the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals [official website], has often been compared to Scalia, even earning the nickname "Scalito," while Luttig, a US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] judge, worked for Scalia as a clerk. An anonymous source said that Bush is not planning to make a decision based on avoiding a battle with Democrats, despite receiving a letter [text] from Senators Harry Reid (D-NV) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official websites] warning him not to pick "an activist who would bring an ideological agenda to the Court." Bush is expected to reveal his choice in the next few days. Reuters has more.