[JURIST] In a 376-38 vote late Thursday, the US House of Representatives [official website] approved a bill [text, PDF] that would strip state and local governments of federal funding if they use eminent domain to transfer privately owned land to commercial interests. The Senate approved a similar measure [JURIST report] last month. The US Supreme Court drew widespread critical attention [JURIST report] to eminent domain doctrine earlier this year by deciding in Kelo v. City of New London [text; JURIST report] that the City of New London Connecticut could expropriate private land when it was in the public interest for the land to be commercially developed. Many states are currently considering legislation [JURIST report] that would prevent such an application of eminent domain within their boundaries. In support of the bill, co-sponsor Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga) [official profile] said "with this "infamous" decision, homes and small businesses across the country have been placed in grave jeopardy and threatened by the government wrecking ball." Justice John Paul Stevens [OYEZ profile], author of the majority opinion in Kelo, defended the result in an August speech, saying that the law has "always allowed local policymakers wide latitude in determining how best to achieve legitimate public goals." AP has more.

[JURIST] The US State Department [official website] Thursday posted online a report [text] submitted to the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva [official website] last month in which the US argued for indefinitely detaining suspected combatants in the war on terror. The report relied in part upon the 2004 Supreme Court decision Hamdi v. Rumsfield [text], saying:

The United States is entitled to detain enemy combatants, even American citizens, until the end of hostilities, in order to prevent the enemy combatants from returning to the field of battle and again taking up arms. The Court recognized the detention of such individuals is such a fundamental and accepted incident of war that it is part of the "necessary and appropriate" force that Congress authorized the President to use against nations, organizations, or persons associated with the September 11 terrorist attacks. A plurality of the Court addressed the entitlements of a U.S. citizen designated as an enemy combatant and held that the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution requires "notice of the factual basis for [the citizen-detainee’s] classification, and a fair opportunity to rebut the government’s factual assertions before a neutral decision maker.

[JURIST] US ambassador to the UN John Bolton [official profile] said Thursday that a second UN Security Council resolution would be required to ensure that Syria has fully withdrawn all intelligence personnel from Lebanon. His comments followed Wednesday's UN Security Council consultation where special UN envoy Terje Roed-Larsen announced [UN press report] that Syria had fully withdrawn its troops from Lebanon as mandated by Security Council resolution 1559 [text; JURIST report], but that because the geographical border between the two countries is still unclear, it is impossible at this time for the Security Council [official website] to verify that all intelligence personnel have been withdrawn. In response, Russian UN ambassador Andrei Denisov called a second resolution "overkill," and other members of the Security Council expressed unwillingness to request further action against Syria. Aljazeera has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that US Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) has announced that confirmation hearings for US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito [JURIST news archive] will start January 9, 2006. Earlier this week Democrats called for January hearings [JURIST report] on Alito, insisting that there was just not enough time to give his extensive judicial record appropriate review beforehand, despite President Bush's initial call for the Senate to act promptly on his nomination "so that an up or down vote is held before the end of this year." Specter commented that meeting the President's goal "just wasn't possible." The projected confirmation schedule anticipates five days of hearings with a committee vote on January 17 and a vote on the nomination by the full Senate on January 20. AP has more.

[JURIST] Texas Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub on Thursday recused himself from further proceedings in the trial of Rep. Tom DeLay [official website; JURIST news archive] after Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle [official website] filed a motion requesting a new judge to replace him [JURIST report]. Earle argued that Schraub could make unbiased decisions in the case because he is a Republican and had made more than $5,000 in contributions to Republican candidates. Before stepping down from the proceedings, Schraub was responsible for picking a new judge to replace Judge Bob Perkins [Houston Chronicle report]. Perkins had been removed from the case after another judge decided that Perkins' Democratic affiliation and donations to several liberal and Democratic causes could bias the case. DeLay is facing money laundering and criminal conspiracy charges in connection with improper campaign contributions. AP has more.

6:30 PM ET - Schraub's recusal passed the responsibility for naming a new trial judge to Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace B. Jefferson [official website]. It was disclosed late Thursday, however, that Jefferson, a Republican, had the same campaign treasurer and consultant as DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority. Jefferson has, however, now named retired Bexar County judge Pat Priest [profile], a Democrat, to take over the politically sensitive trial. The Austin American-Statesman has more.

[JURIST] Leading Thursday's environmental law news, the US Senate [official website] defeated a budget amendment by a 51-48 vote that would have removed drilling authority for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge(ANWR) [official website]. The budget bill [text] itself is expected to be voted on later this evening. In related news, the Senate also passed an amendment by an 86-13 vote that restricts any oil recovered from ANWR from being exported. AP has more.

In other environmental law news...

• Minnesota Department of Commerce [official website] officials announced Wednesday that it is suspending a law that required diesel fuel sold in the state to contain at least two percent soy biodiesel. The suspension follows a discovery that the blended biodiesel fuel [program website] was not meeting state fuel specifications. The suspension is expected to last until next week. Reuters has more.
  
  
• The Task Force on Updating the National Environmental Policy Act [official website], a subgroup of the US House Resources Committee [official website], announced [press release] Thursday that it will hold a hearing next week to discuss litigation and how it impacts NEPA [text] process. The Task Force is charged with reviewing and making recommendations on how to improve NEPA.

[JURIST] In response to what has been described as the "slow pace" by which the Food and Drug Administration [official website] is acting to approve the so-called "morning after pill" for over-the-counter sale, a bipartisan group of US representatives on Thursday introduced a bill that would make the drug available [press release] without a prescription after 30 days of the bill's approval unless the FDA makes a decision on the drug. The US government has been engaged in a protracted political fight over the drug, also known as Plan B [product website; FDA backgrounder], and the FDA has been accused of political posturing in deciding the drug's status [JURIST report]. In August, a high level FDA official resigned from the agency [JURIST report], asserting that in delaying its decision to make the drug available over-the-counter, the FDA was ignoring its own scientific findings that concluded the drug was safe for adult women. The drug continues to be available with a doctor's prescription. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] South African oil company Imvume on Thursday announced plans to file a lawsuit against UN's Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) [official website] in response to its allegations that the company provided illegal kick-backs to the Iraqi government in the now defunct UN oil-for-food program [JURIST news archive]. According to the IIC report [text; JURIST report], Imvume paid a "surcharge" in order to secure a contract to purchase two million barrels of oil from the Iraqi government. Representatives for Imvume assert that the allegations were defamatory and damaging to the company. IOL has more. Also Thursday, India announced its plans [press release] to launch an investigation into IIC findings that implicated India's ruling Congress party. The IIC concluded that Foreign Minister Natwar Singh [official profile], as well as India's Congress party, were a part of an international scheme in which political leaders were given vouchers for Iraqi oil which could then be sold on the open market. In Thursday's announcement, the Indian government stated it was launching its own investigation into the program because the facts alleged in the IIC's report were insufficient to implicate the Indian government. Reuters has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Putting Oil-for-Food in Perspective | Text: UN Oil-for-Food manipulation report

[JURIST] A former top US State Department official has charged that US Vice President Dick Cheney [official profile; JURIST news archive] and his staff were responsible for directives leading to abuse of detainees by US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and for preventing President Bush from seeing a memo which recommended more troops for the 2003 "liberation" of Iraq. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson [official profile], onetime chief of staff for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, told National Public Radio (NPR) [official website; interview] Wednesday that a trail of memos and directives encouraging questionable detention practices led from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's office directly to Cheney's staff. Despite a 2002 order by President George W. Bush calling on the US military to abide by principles consistent with the Geneva Conventions [text] against torture, the Secretary of Defense through the Vice President's office and staff, "began to authorize procedures within the armed forces that led to what we've seen," Wilkerson said. Wilkerson said that in particular Cheney legal counsel David Addington [profile] - promoted on Monday to be the Vice President's new chief of staff replacing the indicted Lewis Libby, was "a staunch advocate of allowing the president in his capacity as commander-in-chief to deviate from the Geneva Conventions." Wilkerson also told NPR that Cheney's staff ran an "alternate national security staff" which prevented Bush from seeing a National Security Council [official website] memo strongly urging the US to use far more troops for the March 2003 invasion and occupation of Iraq. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Perjury, Lies and Degrading Treatment: The Case for the McCain Amendment | Topic: Detainees

[JURIST] Halliburton [corporate website; JURIST news archive] and its subsidiaries have failed to pay their workers in Iraq and Kuwait millions of dollars in overtime in violation of its contracts with the US Army, five workers alleged in a federal lawsuit Thursday. According to the lawsuit, Halliburton and its subsidiaries required several hundred employees to work as much as 80 to 100 hours per week without extra pay and shorted an estimated 20,000 to 40,000 workers overall from overtime pay. Halliburton's contract with the Army required that it pay its workers time-and-a-half for the extra work, even though the Fair Labor Standards Act [PDF text; DOL materials] exempts overseas workers from overtime rules. Under the contracts Halliburton employees signed, however, employees were not to be compensated with overtime pay. AP has more. The Houston Chronicle has local coverage.

[JURIST] Indonesian Justice Minister Hamid Awaluddin said Thursday that Islamic cleric Abu Bakar Bashir [BBC News profile] will not have his prison sentence reduced to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Bashir, imprisoned for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings [CNN backgrounder], allegedly lashed out at the Australian government upon hearing the news, accusing it of interfering in Indonesia's judicial process. Australia, home to 88 of the Bali bombing victims, has repeatedly urged [JURIST report] that the sentence of Bashir, believed to be spiritual head of an al Qaeda-linked terror group, not be reduced. Indonesia traditionally cuts prison terms on national holidays for good behavior, including convicted terrorists. Bashir is currently scheduled to be released in June 2006. Aljazeera has more.

[JURIST] An all-male jury of four officers and four enlisted personnel has been selected in the trial of a US Army reservist accused of attacking a detainee at an Afghanistan detention center and then lying about his actions, Fort Bliss officials announced Thursday. Sgt. Duane M. Grubb of the Cincinnati-based 377th Military Police Company has entered a plea of not guilty against charges [JURIST report] of assault, maltreatment and making a false official statement. Grubb is the sixth Ohio-based reservist to stand trial in an abuse investigation prompted after two detainees died at the Bagram Air Base in 2002 in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive]. US Army Sgt. Christopher W. Greatorex [JURIST report] and Sgt. Darin Broadyof [JURIST report] were acquitted of similar charges in September. In May Spc. Brian E. Cammack pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges in connection with the alleged abuse and was sentenced to three months in prison. More than a dozen other soldiers have been implicated in the ongoing investigation. Prosecutors allege that Grubb used a "knee strike" on a detainee at least one time in November 2002 and then lied about it to investigators. That strike has been at issue in many of the detainee abuse cases. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former media magnate Conrad Black [CBC profile] is suing the US government, alleging the Federal Bureau of Investigation [official website] improperly seized nearly $9 million of his money. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Chicago, Black claimed the funds were seized without legal basis, and added that he needed to use the money to defend against possible impending fraud charges over his role at Hollinger International [corporate website]. Black, the former CEO of Hollinger, has been accused of diverting company funds for personal use [JURIST report] to the tune of over $400 million. Black has countersued Hollinger International for defamation and libel [JURIST report] and has continually maintained his innocence. The FBI seized the money from Black last month, alleging the proceeds constituted part of a larger "fraud scheme." CBC has more.

[JURIST] Five Kuwaiti citizens have been released from the US detention facility in Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], Kuwait Foreign Ministry [official website] officials confirmed Thursday. The five men are among 11 Kuwaitis who have been imprisoned at Guantanamo for nearly the last four years without trial. Upon return to Kuwait, the five detainees will likely be tried on charges of committing an act of aggression against a friendly foreign nation by fighting against US forces in Afghanistan under the former Taliban regime. One of the released detainees, Abdulaziz al-Shimmari, had participated in the ongoing hunger strike [JURIST report] at Guantanamo and was described as a "walking skeleton." Another released detainee was said to be suffering a nervous breakdown [Reuters report] as a result of his imprisonment. From Lebanon, the Daily Star has more.

[JURIST] A UK judge has directed court-martial panel members to issue a 'not guilty' verdict for all seven British soldiers charged with the murdering an Iraqi civilian in southern Iraq. The seven paratroopers were accused of killing [JURIST report] an Iraqi civilian and abusing others three weeks after hostilities had officially ended. According to witnesses offered by the prosecution, the officers stopped a truck carrying the civilians and shortly thereafter dragged the deceased out and began hitting him with their fists and rifles. However, presiding Judge Advocate General Jeff Blackett [official biography] said upon dismissing the case that it became clear "that the main Iraqi witnesses had colluded to exaggerate and lie about the incident." The court heard evidence that some alleged witness were paid $100 a day to give evidence at the trial. To date, the trial has cost UK taxpayers an estimated £10m. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International have heavily criticized the trial [BBC report], saying courts-martial should not be used to try crimes under international law. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The number of adults in prison is on the rise in the United States, according to a report [PDF text; press release] released by the US Justice Department [official website] Wednesday. Nearly 7 million adults were in US prisons, on probation or on parole at the end of 2004, 30 percent more than in 1995. Allan J. Beck, who oversaw the preparation of the department's annual report on probation and parole populations stated that he believes the increase in incarceration may be attributed to the sentencing changes put in effect since the 1990s. The Department of Justice recently released a report [PDF text] showing that the number of female prisoners is on the rise, having increased four percent from the previous year [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Australian Senate [official website] on Thursday hurriedly passed an amendment [JURIST report] to the country's current counter-terrorism legislation the day after Prime Minister John Howard warned of a credible terror attack. Responding to the threat, Howard proposed an amendment to allow prosecution without identifying a specific terrorist act [press release], instead of having to wait until investigators have specific details of alleged attacks. Critics of the legislation, passed in the House of Representatives [official website] Wednesday, believe Howard's undetailed warning about the potential attack was used to push through this legislation, which many believe threatens civil liberties. Another package of new legislation [JURIST report] was introduced to parliament Thursday is expected to pass later this month. The new anti-terror proposals will allow authorities to secretly detain those with knowledge of terrorist activity for up to two weeks without charge. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The Austin American-Statesman is reporting that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle [official website] has requested that Administrative Judge B.B. Schraub be replaced in the Tom DeLay [official website; JURIST news archive] case. Schraub had been tasked with naming a replacement [Houston Chronicle report] for Judge Bob Perkins after retired Texas Judge C.W. Duncan, appointed by Schraub to hear the Republican Congressman's recusal motion [JURIST report], ruled Wednesday that Perkins should not preside [JURIST report] over DeLay's trial on money laundering and criminal conspiracy charges [JURIST report] given his donations to Democratic candidates and causes. Schraub had said that he would choose a retired judge from outside Austin's Travis County who "has the characteristics we're looking for and will do it," though Schraub did not elaborate on what those characteristics were. Earle has asked that a new judge be put in charge of naming a replacement for Perkins.

12:07 PM ET - In his motion filed Thursday, Earle asked that Schraub either recuse himself or appoint another judge to take his place. According to the motion, Schraub has made several contributions to Republican candidates, including the Texas governor, and these contributions call into question his impartiality. AP has more.

2:23 PM ET - Schraub recused himself from the case Thursday afternoon and said that he will ask the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court to name a judge to preside over DeLay's trial. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Nigerian Federal High Court has ruled that two Nigerians who were tortured and mutilated in Sierra Leone can challenge Nigeria's decision to grant asylum to former Liberian President Charles Taylor [PBS profile]. Taylor was granted asylum in Nigeria in 2003 following his indictment [text] by the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone [official website, JURIST news archive] on charges of crimes against humanity and other violations of international humanitarian law. Judge Stephen Jonah Adah ruled that the two men suffered personal injuries by torturers said to be backed by Taylor, and said that they have a legal right to attempt to see Taylor face trial. The Nigerian government, which has refused to hand over Taylor for prosecution despite US calls for Taylor's arrest [JURIST report] and has maintained that Taylor should remain in exile [JURIST report] in Nigeria, said it will appeal the decision. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Denver voters have approved a measure that makes it the first large American city to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. The measure, which passed with 54 percent of the vote [official results], allows adults 21 and over to possess up to an ounce of marijuana without penalty. A handful of other cities, including Seattle and Oakland, have laws saying that marijuana possession is a "low priority" for police and a dozen states have already decriminalized the possession of small amounts, although fines can still be issued. Still Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper [official website], who opposed the measure, said police will continue to arrest and charge people for marijuana because state law still makes possession illegal and a city may only enforce stricter laws, not weaker ones. USA Today has more; the Rocky Mountain News has local coverage.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] voted Wednesday not to exempt online political expression - blogs, emails, and other forms of Internet communication - from campaign finance laws [FEC materials]. Lawmakers had warned that the Internet may have opened up a new loophole for election spending. The House voted 225-182 [roll call vote] for House Resolution 1606 [PDF text], which would have exempted online forms from regulation by the Federal Election Commission [official website], but the margin fell short of the two-thirds majority required for the bill to move forward. The FEC has been instructed by the federal courts [JURIST report] to promulgate rules governing political speech and campaign spending online. AP has more.

[JURIST] I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [NYT profile] pleaded not guilty Thursday morning in federal court to charges of obstructing justice, perjury and making false statements. The former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney was indicted [JURIST report] last week in the ongoing CIA leak investigation [JURIST news archive]. Libby's defense lawyer has suggested that Libby will rely on a poor memory defense and that Libby's inconsistent "recollections" to the grand jury and FBI investigators were the result of his hectic schedule and the near impossibility of recalling the details of conversations had years earlier. Libby reportedly testified before a grand jury that he learned the identity of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame from reporters, though evidence indicates that he may have learned her identity from Cheney and others a month earlier. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: The Devil in the Details: The CIA Leak Case | Text: Libby indictment | Audio: DOJ indictment press conference

[JURIST] A New Jersey jury on Thursday found that pharmaceutical company Merck [corporate website] properly warned consumers about the risks associated with its painkiller Vioxx [Merck Vioxx Information Center website; JURIST news archive]. In the first case to go to trial, a Texas jury in August found Merck liable for $253 million [JURIST report] for the wrongful death of a man who suffered cardiac arrest after using the drug. Vioxx was recalled last fall after clinical tests showed that patients who use the drug for more than 18 months faced increased risk of stroke and heart attack [FDA public health advisory]. Merck currently faces thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its distribution of the drug, and after the unfavorable August verdict, had said that it would consider settling some claims [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A federal appeals panel has indicated that it might require the government to allow libraries, major corporations and other groups to challenge FBI demands for records under the USA Patriot Act [PDF text; JURIST news archive]. The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit [official website] on Wednesday heard arguments in two cases concerning the federal government's secrecy requirements. In the first case, a federal judge in Connecticut ruled [JURIST report] that a gag order shielding the identity of librarians who had received an FBI demand for records, or national security letter [PDF form letter]; ACLU backgrounder], about library patrons prevented the plaintiffs from participating in public debate on the Patriot Act. In the second case, a federal judge in New York ruled that FBI national security letters constitute unreasonable searches and seizures and therefore violate the Constitution. Two judges on the three-judge appellate panel indicated that they were bothered by the secrecy requirements and suggested that they could spell out legal avenues for anyone subjected to the government's probes. AP has more. The Hartford Courant has local coverage.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Supreme Court rejects appeal to lift gag order in Patriot Act case
• Federal appeals court reinstates gag order against librarians in Patriot Act case
• Judge lifts gag order against ID'ing librarians queried under Patriot Act
• ACLU seeks removal of gag order on library in Patriot Act case
• Library, ACLU sue federal government over Patriot Act subpoena

[JURIST] The Bush administration and an international human rights watchdog group have both challenged the Uzbekistan [JURIST news archives] government in the case of Sanjar Umarov [official profile], leader of the country's new opposition movement, the Sunshine Uzbekistan Coalition [party website]. Umarov, who has been critical of authoritarian President Islam Kamirov [BBC profile], was found naked and incoherent in his jail cell by his lawyer last week. A senior US State Department official said that the US is urging Uzbekistan to live up to its international commitments on human rights, including due process. Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] has called Umarov's arrest and detention the "latest incident in the Uzbek government's ruthless crackdown on dissent" and said that it was politically motivated [HRW press release]. Authorities, who arrested Umarov [JURIST report] during an October 22 raid of the group's headquarters, claim he was suspected of embezzlement. HRW also urged the Uzbek government to obtain immediate medical care for Umarov, as well as an independent psychiatric examination. For over a week, Umarov has been denied access to his lawyer and the government has turned down repeated pleas for Umarov's medical care. Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling and dismissed a lawsuit [PDF opinion] brought by parents who were angered by a sex survey given to their students in a California school district. The three-judge panel rejected the parents' contention that they have the exclusive right to inform their children about sex, saying "no such specific right can be found in the deep roots of the nation's history and tradition or implied in the concept of ordered liberty." In making its decision, the appeals court considered the rulings of other courts which have upheld mandatory health and sexual education classes and condom distribution programs. The school district discontinued the survey in 2002 after receiving complaints from parents, despite the district's assertion that it was trying to help the first, third and fifth grade students as part of a program to assess early trauma. AP has more; the San Francisco Chronicle has local coverage.

[JURIST] The European Commission [official website] said Thursday that it plans to investigate allegations that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) [official website] is using a Soviet-era compound in eastern Europe as part of a secret prison system [JURIST report] to hide and interrogate al Qaeda suspects. The allegations stem from a Washington Post report Wednesday which quoted former and current intelligence officers who admit to the covert prison operation, but administration officials refuse to confirm or deny the allegations. An EU spokesman said the commission's 25 member nations will be informally questioned about the possible facility, since such a prison could violate the European Convention on Human Rights [text] and the Convention Against Torture [text]. Leaders from Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Georgia and Armenia have all denied that there is a CIA base in their countries, although Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] says it has gathered evidence [ABC Australia report; HRW report, PDF] indicating that the CIA uses planes to transport prisoners in Afghanistan to secret detention facilities in Poland and Romania. The Czech Republic's Interior Minister, however, has confirmed that the US government asked Prague [Prague Daily Monitor report] to house Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] prisoners from a Chinese province [JURIST report] who faced danger if returned to their home countries, but Czech authorities refused the request due to potential security risks. AP has more.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross [official website] on Thursday called for access to all foreign terror suspects held by the US. ICRC spokesperson Antonella Notari said that the ICRC is concerned about "the fate of an unknown number of people... held at undisclosed places of detention" and that "access to detainees is an important humanitarian priority for the ICRC and a logical continuation of our current wor in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Azerbaijan officials have agreed to allow Soviet-era passports to be used as identification for upcoming elections in an attempt to avoid controversy over a headscarf ban for new ID photo cards. The government announced the change in policy after a group representing thousands of Muslim women said that many would not be able to vote in the elections because they have not obtained new ID cards due to the ban on headscarves for the photos. The country's Central Election Commission [official website, English version] said Tuesday that older forms of identification would be accepted for the election, delaying a possible showdown over the ban. The Washington-based International Religious Liberty Association [advocacy website], led by Imam Ilgar Ibrahimoglu in Baku, has challenged the government policy. Ibrahimoglu said the dispute was less about religious repression than government repression of any form of dissent. He has accused the government of harassing him and members of his congregation because of his opposition to the government. Azerbaijan is largely secular country, with Muslims representing only about 5 percent of the population. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Tajik Islamic party criticizes school headscarf ban
• Netherlands considering Muslim burka ban
• Australian PM rejects school headscarf ban
• UK court upholds right to wear Muslim dress in schools
• Danish court allows employer to ban headscarves
• Malaysia court upholds expulsion of students for wearing turbans
• German high court: headscarf ban applies to Christian nuns
• French headscarf ban takes effect

[JURIST] US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff [official profile] has outlined plans to increase security along US borders by hiring more federal agents, constructing additional fences and ending policies that allow illegal immigrants to be released in the US. Chertoff announced the plans during a speech [full transcript] at a forum of business leaders on Wednesday in Houston. Chertoff warned that the US had to increase border security due to the threat of terror attacks, calling it a "legal and civic duty" of the country. The US government has been largely unable to stem illegal immigration [JURIST news archive] since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, despite making it a priority. Under Chertoff's proposal [fact sheet], 1,500 border patrol agents would be added to the existing force of 11,000, a 14-mile wall would be constructed on the border near San Diego, and the US would end a release policy for detained illegal immigrants by adding more space at detention facilities and by expediting removal of illegal immigrants. Chertoff did not say what the proposal would cost. DHS has a news release on the announcement. USA Today has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Republican senator breaks with Bush on immigration bills
• Chertoff vows to return illegal immigrants in Senate Judiciary testimony
• Illegal immigration into US on the rise, report shows
• Terrorists exploiting US immigration laws, study suggests
• Homeland Security head unveils plans to strengthen border control
• GOP senators propose bill to force millions of illegal aliens out of US

[JURIST] Saudi Arabia King Abdullah [Wikipedia profile] has urged President Bush to release Saddam Hussein's half-brother from detention because of failing health, Saudi Arabia [JURIST news archive] daily Al-Riyadh reported Wednesday. King Abdullah reportedly sent a letter to Bush asking him to release Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti [Global Security profile], one of seven former officials currently standing trial with Hussein for the killing of 150 Shiites in Dujail in 1982, because he's suffering from an advanced form of cancer, although it is not known when the letter was sent. Iraqi leaders have promised to provide health care [AP report] to al-Tikriti while he is imprisoned, but they did not say whether they supported releasing him from prison. Another Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reported last week that al-Tikriti had written to leaders of Iraq [JURIST news archive], Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates to ask for help in obtaining his release. Al-Tikriti has said that he was not involved with Hussein's brutal leadership, although he previously served as Iraq's intelligence chief at the time of the Dujail massacre [BBC backgrounder] and as the country's UN ambassador. AP has more.

[JURIST] The interim government in Haiti [JURIST news archive] has sued former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide [BBC profile] in US federal court for his alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars from the country's treasury and a state-owned telephone company. The suit, filed by several US law firms on behalf of Haiti's government, accuses the former leader and eight others of transferring stolen funds from the treasury and Haiti Teleco to the US. Aristide has been living in exile in South Africa after he was ousted from office [JURIST report] in February 2004 by an armed uprising. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US has circulated a draft UN Security Council [official website] resolution that would extend the UN mandate of the 180,000-strong multinational force [official website] currently in Iraq [JURIST news archive] for another year. The US-led force was originally authorized [JURIST report] in May 2004 under UN Security Council Resolution 1546 [UN summary]. The latest draft, which the US proposed on Wednesday, is expected to draw opposition from Russia [JURIST news archive] and others on the Security Council, and it represents a departure from previous mandates, which have required renewal every six months. The current UN mandate [JURIST report] expires following parliamentary elections on Dec. 15, but it would be extended under the US draft resolution to Dec. 31, 2006. Review of the troops' presence would be allowed after eight months, however, and Iraq could request its termination. Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [BBC profile] urged the Security Council to approve the extension in a letter earlier this week, arguing that Iraqi security forces were not yet ready to take over responsibility for maintaining security in the country. AP has more.