[JURIST] Lower courts in Uzbekistan [JURIST archive] Saturday sentenced 25 more men found guilty of involvement in the May 2005 Andijan uprising. Thirteen defendants were sentenced by the Tashkent provincial court and 12 by the Tashkent city court; all received at least 20 years in prison. Authorities have meanwhile confirmed that hearings are underway for 58 other individuals [JURIST report] in connection with the uprising. Last month, the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan sentenced the 15 men convicted of masterminding the uprising [JURIST report] that resulted in the killing of an estimated 500 civilians by Uzbek police [JURIST report] to between 14 and 20 years in prison. The US State Department and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the previous trial as unfair and "based on evidence that isn't credible," calling for an independent investigation [JURIST report] into the trial. The EU has issued an embargo [JURIST report] against dealing arms to Uzbekistan that might be used for "internal repression" and has imposed sanctions [JURIST report] against the country for failing to allow an independent investigation [JURIST report] of the incident. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A Yemeni appellate court Saturday upheld the capital sentence of a Shia cleric accused of spying for the Iranian government and for supporting an armed rebellion in northern Yemen [JURIST news archive] last year. The case will now go to the Supreme Court of Yemen, which will render a final decision in the death penalty case of cleric Yahya Hussein Al Dailami, as well as the ten year jail term given to alleged accomplice Muhammad Ahmad Muftah. The two were convicted on May 29 of "having contacts with the state Iran with the aim of harming the diplomatic and political position of Yemen," and were also found guilty of "conspiring to overthrow the republican regime." Dailami received the harsher penalty for "mak[ing] contacts with the Iranian state seeking support for an Islamic revolution in Yemen." Dailami is considered a prisoner of conscience by some [IHRC alert], and is an outspoken critic [Yemen Times interview] of the Yemeni government. Deutsche Press Agentur has local coverage.

[JURIST] Iran's conservative Guardian Council [official website] Saturday approved the constitutionality of a bill designed to prevent inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] if Iran is reported to the UN Security Council [official website] for potential sanctions. The lower house of Iran's parliament approved the bill [JURIST report] two weeks ago, which will now become law if signed by the president. IAEA members agreed [JURIST report] last Thursday to allow Iran to send uranium to Russia for enrichment rather than refer Iran to the Security Council. The Security Council previously announced [PDF text] that Iran was in non-compliance with saftey standards required by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [text]; Iran maintains that it is not attempting to develop weapons, and that it have a right to enrich uranium for energy purposes. AP has more.

[JURIST] The European Union [official website] has released a statement [text] criticizing the death penalty after North Carolina executed Kenneth Lee Boyd [JURIST report], marking the 1,000th execution in the US since the US Supreme Court lifted a 10 year moratorium [DPIC backgrounder] on capital punishment in 1976. "We consider this punishment cruel and inhuman," said the statement. "It does not act as a deterrent and any miscarriage of justice -- which is inevitable in any legal system -- is irreversible." The EU commended the Supreme Court on 2002 and 2005 decisions declaring the execution of mentally deficient and juvenile offenders unconstitutional, but urged the US to reconsider its withdrawal [JURIST report] from the Optional Protocol of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) [text], which "gives the right to consular assistance in death penalty cases." Today, 38 of the 50 states and the US government permit capital punishment; according to Amnesty International [advocacy website]. Only China, Iran and Vietnam executed more citizens in 2004 than the US. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official website] is expected to deliver a stern message to leaders in Europe when she heads there Monday, telling them in effect to "back off" from their criticism of US treatment of terror suspects and the existence of alleged secret CIA prisons. Rice, who has been largely silent on the detainee issues, will address officials in Germany, at the EU headquarters in Brussels, and will also stop in Romania, which has denied that it hosts a secret prison. She is expected to remind European allies that they are also partners in the war on terror, and that the US does not violate international laws. Reuters has more.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [official website] says it is preparing to file a lawsuit against the CIA on behalf of a man allegedly taken to a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan, charging that "CIA officials at the highest level violated US and universal human rights law when they authorized agents to abduct and [detain] an innocent man". BBC News has more.

[JURIST] In court papers filed Friday, US Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald [official website] said certain details of his investigation into the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive], including grand jury testimony and documents identifying witnesses, must remain secret, implying that the probe continues to move forward and that further charges may be forthcoming. Fitzgerald did not object, however, to further disclosure of details related to the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [NYT profile], Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. Dow Jones & Company [corporate website], publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has filed a petition for the release of secret details of Fitzgerald's investigation. The issue centers around eight blank pages contained in the public version of the Feb. 15, 2005 ruling [text, PDF] by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit [official website] in which Circuit Judge David Tatel affirmed that former New York Times reporter Judith Miller and TIME reporter Matthew Cooper could be held in contempt of court [JURIST report] for failing to testify in the case. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle [official website] Friday vetoed legislation that would have capped the amount of money victims in medical malpractice lawsuits could be awarded for pain and suffering at $450,000 for adults and $550,000 for minors. Doyle said in a press statement that the adult cap was just $5,000 more than that set in previous Wisconsin legislation struck down [opinion text] in July by the Wisconsin Supreme Court [official website] because it implicated equal protection violations. Legislators had justified the measure as a means of addressing skyrocketing health insurance rates. Assembly Speaker John Gard (R) [official website] said he would try to gain the necessary support from the Republican-controlled legislature to override the veto. AP has more.

[JURIST] The 100-nation governing body of the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST news archive] Friday authorized an independent board to award funds to victims of war crimes through administration of the international Victims Trust Fund [ICC backgrounder]. Member states and private groups have reportedly donated over $1 million to the fund, but disbursement to victims of genocide and crimes against humanity was stalled until the ICC resolved the dispute over how the fund would be set-up and managed. Under the compromise, the fund's directors can now begin to allocate funds for payment, while the court will maintain general oversight to ensure there is no compromise of the trial proceedings. The Assembly of States Parties [ICC backgrounder] convened in The Hague [press release] on Monday for a six-day meeting. AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly [official profile] of the Northern District of Illinois ruled [opinion text, PDF] Friday that an Illinois law restricting the sale and rental of violent or sexually explicit video games to minors is an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. The law was set to go into effect January 1 and would have been the first of its kind nationwide, imposing fines of $500 to $1,000. Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich [official website] said he will appeal the ruling, despite the fact that all similar laws proposed in other states have been struck down. Blagojevich signed [JURIST report] the Safe Games Illinois Act [text] in July following its passage by the Illinois Senate [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN Security Council [official website] agreed Friday to a US request to discuss human rights violations in Myanmar for the first time. The UN discussion was announced after Myanmar's military-led government extended [JURIST report] for yet another year the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile, official website], and amid human rights group reports of the nation's "brutal and systematic" abuse of political prisoners [AFP report]. While the situation will now be before the Council, the UN fell short of adding it to the Council's formal agenda. Algeria, China, Russia and Japan, who have questioned the US plan arguing that the issue was not within the scope of the council's goal to uphold international peace and security, do not expect a follow-up. US Ambassador John Bolton, however, noted the importance of bringing the topic before the council and remains focused on a long-term view. Reuters has more.