[JURIST] A memo obtained Wednesday shows that the top US general in Iraq, Gen. George Casey [official profile], was aware of reports of abuse of detainees by Iraqi security forces in June. The memo, dated June 22, indicated that Casey heard reports of serious physical abuse of detainees by Iraqi forces, months before US forces discovered detainees showing signs of abuse [JURIST report] in an Iraqi interior ministry building in Baghdad. In the memo, Casey called the abuse a violation of Iraqi law and counterproductive to US operations in Iraq. Casey said that he expected US forces training the Iraqi security forces to educate them on respect for human rights, and that US forces had an obligation to take "all reasonable action" to halt cases of abuse. US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld [official profile] has sought clarification [JURIST report] on the final part of the memo concerning what action is required of US soldiers who discover cases of abuse after he appeared to differ over the answer with Marine Corps. Gen. Peter Pace at a press conference. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Supporters of a ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] in Massachusetts delivered 170,000 signatures to the secretary of state Wednesday, moving them one step closer to putting the initiative on the ballot in 2008. The drive, headed by the Massachusetts Family Institute [advocacy website] and other conservatives, resulted in 147,000 certified signatures, with only 65,825 needed to qualify the initiative. The initiative must now gain the support of 50 of the 200 state legislators in successive legislative sessions before being approved for the ballot. The state legislature in September rejected a constitutional amendment [JURIST report] that would have replaced same-sex marriage with civil unions, although a majority vote was needed for that amendment to succeed. AP has more.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile] on Wednesday said that the US-led war on terror has threatened the world ban on torture and weakened the US' international standing on human rights. Arbour said that "unassailable" principles against torture had been sacrificed in the war on terror, pointing to secret detention centers for prisoners and extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive], both of which the US is alleged to have used. The US has consistently denied using torture against terror suspects, but a series of reports [JURIST report] over the past several weeks have linked the US to secret CIA-run prisons in eastern Europe. Arbour said US reassurances on the issue were not acceptable because its activities were carried out in complete secrecy. Her comments were made ahead of Human Rights Day [official website] on Saturday, when the World Health Organization will highlight human rights issues [UN News report] for people with mental disorders. US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton [official profile] called Arbour's comments "inappropriate" and made without any supporting evidence. Earlier Wednesday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a major shift in US policy [JURIST report] to ban cruel treatment of detainees by internationally-based personnel. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey [official website] has asked that a jury verdict finding it negligent [JURIST report] in the 1993 bombing at the World Trade Center [Wikipedia backgrounder] be set aside. According to a motion filed earlier this week, the Port Authority is arguing that the judge in the case, New York Supreme Court Judge Nicholas Figueroa, improperly influenced the outcome of the case based on his belief that the plaintiffs should win. As evidence, the Authority quotes Figueroa as saying during a pre-trial hearing, "Would I be justified in vacating any verdict which completely absolved the Port Authority? I think I would." Although no damages have been awarded in the case yet, the jury found the Port Authority responsible for failing to increase security at the buildings and to properly maintain the garage where terrorists detonated an explosives-laden van. Wednesday's New York Times has more [registration required].

[JURIST] Former Hollinger International [corporate website] executive Jack Boultbee Wednesday pleaded not guilty to fraud charges a week after failing to appear [JURIST report] for his originally scheduled arraignment. Boultbee appeared in a Chicago court to answer charges stemming from millions allegedly diverted from the company by former CEO Conrad Black [CBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Boultbee, a former executive vice president, was released on $1.5 million bond. Black and two other former executives charged in the case have all pleaded not guilty to fraud charges [JURIST report], although a US Attorney's Office spokesman said more charges could be forthcoming next week. CBC News has more.

[JURIST] The US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] on Wednesday ruled in a 2-1 decision [PDF text] that restrictions imposed on telemarketers by North Dakota help to maintain privacy and are not overly broad. The court's holding reverses a district court ruling striking down the law. Under the law, Century Code Chapter 51-28 [PDF text], non-profit groups are no longer allowed to solicit contributions from residents who place their name on a "do not call" list if the groups hire telemarketers to do so. The regulations allow groups to contact residents on the list if they use employees or volunteers to make the calls. The 2003 law was challenged by North Dakota chapters of the Fraternal Order of Police [North Dakota Lodges website] and the Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW Dept. of ND website], but 15 other states and 184 organizations filed amicus briefs in the case. North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem [official profile] has a news release [PDF text] on the ruling. AP has more.

[JURIST] Australian Human Rights Commissioner Sev Ozdowski [official profile], whose statutory appointment to the post ends Wednesday, has urged his successor to push for an Australian bill of rights to counter the tough anti-terror laws [JURIST report] that the Australian Senate passed Tuesday. An avid opponent of children in immigration detention, Ozdowski voiced concerns [statement] about the lack of a proper counterweight to the legislation, which has been a point of contention among the Australian executive and legislative branches and human rights groups for several months. ABC News has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Australian opposition leader compares sedition proposal to North Korea, Cuba
  
• Former Australian PM says government reversing human rights advances
  
• Australian senators call for changes to proposed anti-terror law
  
• Australia mulls stripping citizenship of convicted terrorists
  
• 'Shoot-to-kill' provisions of Australia anti-terror proposal questioned
  
• Australian lawyers group slams state anti-terrorism powers

[JURIST] British playwright Harold Pinter [official website], winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature [official website], has called for war crimes charges against US President Bush [official profile] and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile] in an acceptance speech to be shown Saturday at the award ceremony in Stockholm. Pinter, a longtime critic of the Iraq war [Pinter materials], characterized it as "contempt for the concept of international law" and said Blair should be brought before the International Criminal Court [official website] for war crimes. Pinter, who was recently admitted to a hospital and will not be present Saturday, recorded the speech, in which he slams US and UK policies [BBC News report] in the Middle East. Pinter also criticized the US for supporting right-wing military governments in Greece, Guatemala and Chile among others, and he called the UK a "bleating little lamb" following the US. The Guardian has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Wednesday heard two cases involving jury deliberations in death penalty cases. In the first, Oregon v. Guzek [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], the Court considered whether juries can weigh any doubts they have about a defendant's guilt in deciding whether to impose the death sentence. In Kansas v. Marsh [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], the Court considered whether a sentencing scheme is constitutional when it imposes the death penalty when jurors found mitigating and aggravating evidence to be equal. The justices appeared unsympathetic to arguments by counsel for the defendants in both cases, with Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Scalia questioning what the parties wanted in the cases. The cases come shortly after the 1,000th execution in the US [JURIST report] since the death penalty was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1977. AP has more.

[JURIST] Orleans Parish Criminal District Court [official website] Judge Calvin Johnson has ordered the release without bail of as many as 100 prisoners who were arrested before Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] ravaged the area, but were never charged. Johnson, who was appointed to hear the cases in Baton Rouge by the Louisiana Supreme Court, ordered the releases of the inmates during a several-hour hearing in which attorneys quickly presented the charges, date of arrest and criminal history of each inmate, who were evacuated days after the hurricane and remained imprisoned [JURIST report] in state facilities since that time. The majority of the inmates who were held without charge were set free, but the district attorney's office has reserved the right to charge the inmates at a later date. Most prisoners who were charged before the hurricane were ordered to remain incarcerated. From New Orleans, Wednesday's Times-Picayune has local coverage.

[JURIST] US Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald [official profile; investigation website] on Wednesday presented additional evidence to a newly empaneled grand jury [JURIST report] in the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive]. Fitzgerald has continued his probe and is reportedly considering charges against White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove [official profile] after gathering new information from Washington Post Assistant Managing Editor Bob Woodward [Wikipedia profile]. The investigation began two years ago into whether a White House official leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame in retribution for criticism of the Bush administration by her husband, former ambassador Joseph Wilson. Fitzgerald's investigation led to the indictment of I. Lewis Libby [JURIST report], former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, for obstruction of justice on Oct. 28. In a new wrinkle, Woodward reportedly told Fitzgerald [JURIST report] that he heard Plame's name from an administration official other than Libby before Libby was reported to have disclosed it to another reporter. It has been reported that Plame is planning to retire [Reuters report] from the CIA at the end of the week. The Washington Post has more [registration required].

[JURIST] US Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) [official website], chairman of the House Armed Services Committee [official website], has said that the final version of the 2006 defense spending bill will likely contain a ban on cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment [JURIST document] of foreign terrorism suspects and a requirement to use proper interrogation techniques. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) [official website], a former Vietnam prisoner of war and the ban's chief supporter, continued negotiations [JURIST report] Tuesday with Stephen Hadley, President Bush's national security adviser, about the terms of the ban, which the Bush Administration has threatened to veto [policy statement]. Hunter also confirmed that the bill will likely contain a provision contained in the House version requiring that US troops who train Iraqi security forces emphasize humane treatment of prisoners. Hunter's announcement follows a statement [transcript] from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] signaling a US policy shift on treatment of detainees [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Chilean appeals court on Wednesday stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet [BBC News profile; JURIST news archive] of immunity from prosecution for the disappearance of an additional 29 leftists under his regime. The ruling allows the 29 cases to be joined with nine others for which Pinochet was previously indicted [JURIST report] and declared fit to stand trial [JURIST report]. The kidnappings were part of Operation Condor [Wikipedia backgrounder], a campaign by Pinochet's security forces against political opponents. The cases have individually worked their way in a halting fashion through Chile's court system, often barred by the immunity that Pinochet enjoys as a former president. The fallen leader also faces corruption and tax evasion charges [JURIST report] and was questioned [JURIST report] in connection with the death of an army officer this week. A lawyer for Pinochet said they would appeal the most recent ruling to the supreme court. From Santiago, La Nacion has local coverage. AP has more.

[JURIST] A nonpartisan group that tracks the records of federal government personnel has sued the Bush administration for withholding the names and job information of about 900,000 civilian employees. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) [official website] filed a complaint [PDF text] Tuesday under the Freedom of Information Act [text; OPM FOIA website]. TRAC alleged that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) [official website] has failed to provide the names of civilian employees of the Defense Department and some 150,000 other employees since October 2004 and has also failed to explain why. Since 1989 TRAC, a research group based out of Syracuse University, has posted information online about the 2.7 million federal civilian employees, including work location, salary and job description; the data is used by reporters and watchdog groups to monitor government policies and abuses. An OPM spokesperson refused to comment on the lawsuit. Information about government employees has been publicly available since a register was first developed in 1816. TRAC has a news release on the suit and its correspondence with OPM [PDF text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website] Chief Justice Rizgar Mohammed Amin on Wednesday adjourned proceedings in the Saddam Hussein trial [JURIST news archive] until December 21 in order to avoid holding hearings during the upcoming parliamentary elections. The court held a brief session Wednesday, hearing testimony from two prosecution witnesses who recounted their experiences during the 1982 massacre in Dujail [JURIST report]. According to the testimony, prisoners were interrogated and beaten at Baath Party headquarters then transported to Baghdad where they were further tortured and interrogated. The first witness also testified that Barazan Ibrahim, Hussein's brother and co-defendant, was present and issuing orders at the Baath Party headquarters but, upon further questioning, admitted that he was blindfolded at the time and believed Ibrahim was present based on the statements of other prisoners. Hussein was not present for the testimony [JURIST report], in protest mistreatment of an "unjust court". According to a statement from Hussein's defense lawyers Wednesday, the defendants have not been allowed private meetings with their lawyers and have otherwise been denied access to the necessary facilities and evidence to prepare their defense. A court official said that the Hussein had been excused from proceedings "on the basis of a certain request" and that Hussein is expected to attend the December 21 session. Before adjourning proceedings Wednesday, Amin agreed to meet with defense attorneys that to discuss the security of the lawyers. AP has more.

[JURIST] A series of not guilty verdicts [JURIST report] returned by a federal jury Tuesday for former Florida professor Sami Al-Arian [JURIST news archive; advocacy website] on terrorism charges is being called a major defeat for law enforcement officials. Al-Arian was indicted [PDF indictment] for allegedly supporting terrorists, but the jury found him not guilty on the most serious charges, including conspiring to kill people overseas, perjury and immigration violations, and deadlocked on the remaining nine counts raised against him. There were also no guilty verdicts entered against Al-Arian's three co-defendants, indicted with him in 2003 [JURIST report] for allegedly operating the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) [CDI backgrounder] in the United States. The case is a blow to the Justice Department, who gathered evidence for ten years and relied on expanded surveillance powers authorized by the Patriot Act [JURIST news archive] to tape 20,000 hours of telephone conversations between Al-Arian and his associates. Much of the recorded conversations took place before the 1995 designation of PIJ as a terrorist group, however, and therefore could not be used to prove that Al-Arian supported a terrorist organization. Justice Department officials are currently considering whether to re-try Al-Arian [US DOJ statement] on the counts where the jury did not reach a verdict. Wednesday's New York Times has more.

[JURIST] South Korea's Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) [official website] ruled Wednesday that Microsoft [corporate website] breached antitrust rules [KFTC findings, PDF] and ordered the company to pay a $32 million fine and offer multiple versions of its Windows operating system because the automatic inclusion of Microsoft programs with Windows has hurt consumers. Microsoft said the decision could force it to pull Windows out of the country, and analysts predict the decision could encourage companies to challenge Microsoft in other nations. The dispute arose when Daum Communications and RealNetworks [corporate website] lodged complaints with the regulatory board, though Microsoft has since settled [JURIST report] with the two companies. Microsoft says it will appeal the KFTC decision [press release]. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] Alexander Vershbow [official profile], the US ambassador to South Korea, on Wednesday called North Korea [government website; JURIST news archive] a "criminal regime" that is involved in arms sales, drug trafficking and currency forgery. Vershbow's comments came as he was explaining why the US has imposed economic sanctions against the country and follow North Korea's warnings that it could walk out of ongoing talks [State Dept. materials] over its nuclear situation if economic sanctions are lifted. In October, the US Justice Department indicted seven men [press release; BBC report] for the alleged distribution of high-quality counterfeit US bills, which the government accuses North Korea of forging. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] handed down two decisions Wednesday, including one in Lockhart v. US [Duke Law backgrounder], where the court held that the federal government can offset Social Security benefits to collect outstanding student loan debt even if the debt has been owed for over 10 years. The Court considered the appeal of James Lockhart, a disabled man whose monthly check had been cut by 15 percent to cover college loans from the 1980s. The Debt Collection Act of 1982 normally bars the reduction of Social Security benefits to offset debts that are more than 10 years over due, but the Court ruled that the 1991 Higher Education Technical Amendments effectively eliminated the 10-year statute of limitations for student loan debt. Read the Court's opinion, per Justice O'Connor, along with a concurrence from Justice Scalia. AP has more.

Chief Justice John Roberts [JURIST news archive] authored the second opinion handed down Wednesday, his first since joining the Court. In Martin v. Franklin Capital Corp. [Duke Law backgrounder], the Court held that attorney's fees should not ordinarily be awarded when a case originally filed in state court has been improperly removed to federal court, as long as there was an objectively reasonable basis for removal. If no objectively reasonable basis exists, the Court ruled, fees should be awarded. Read the Court's unanimous opinion.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] on Wednesday sentenced Miroslav Bralo [ICTY case backgrounder], a former Bosnian Croat soldier, to 20 years in jail. Bralo pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to murder, rape and torture charges stemming from the 1993 Bosnian war. He had initially pleaded not guilty [JURIST report], but later changed his plea [plea agreement, PDF] and ICTY Judge Iain Bonomy said this move, along with Bralo's remorse and voluntary surrender to the war crimes tribunal, served as a mitigating factor reducing Bralo's sentence from a possible 25 years. Bralo belonged to a special Bosnian Croat force known as the Jokers that attacked Muslim villages in central Bosnia during the 1993 conflict and subsequently imprisoned and tortured civilians. Read the court's full sentencing judgment and a summary of the ruling. The ICTY also has a press release. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Proceedings in the Saddam Hussein trial [JURIST news archive] continued Wednesday without the former president in the courtroom, after Hussein promised not to return [JURIST report] to an "unjust court". There was a delay in proceedings [AP report] Wednesday at the Iraqi High Criminal Court (formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website]) while judges decided whether to proceed without Hussein. Under Iraqi law, a defendant need not be present in the courtroom, though the court is considering allowing Hussein to watch the trial via closed circuit TV and Hussein may be able to intervene using a microphone. The trial has been disturbed by several outbursts from Hussein since it started on October 19, with the former leader repeatedly trying to gain control of the proceedings. Hussein and his co-defendants are charged with murder, torture, forced expulsions and illegal imprisonment stemming from a 1982 massacre in Dujail [JURIST report] and could face the death penalty if found guilty. Before Hussein's boycott announcement Tuesday, the court heard testimony from five witnesses including a woman who spoke behind a curtain and with her voice disguised [JURIST report; BBC report] and recounted beatings, torture and sexual humiliation at the hands of Iraqi security agents. BBC News has more.

9:53 AM ET - The Saddam Hussein trial has now been adjourned until December 21.

[JURIST] On the final day of Egypt's legislative elections [JURIST news archive], police beat back female voters with sticks when they tried to enter a blocked-off polling station in the Nasiriyah district of Zagazig, a stronghold of banned political group the Muslim Brotherhood [Wikipedia profile; JURIST report]. The Brotherhood is the country's largest opposition group and has won more support from voters than expected during the parliamentary elections. Although voting went on as usual in other areas of Egypt Wednesday, the confrontations in Zagazig continue the increasingly regular disturbances [JURIST report] experienced in that area during the past four weeks of elections. The government has arrested hundreds of Brotherhood campaign workers [JURIST report] and blockaded polling stations where the Brotherhood has strong support. The Brotherhood has 35 candidates standing in Wednesday's runoffs for the remaining 127 of the 444 elected seats in parliament. The ruling National Democratic Party [party website, English version], headed by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [official profile], has won 222 seats so far, the Brotherhood 76 seats. Independents have won two seats and other opposition parties 11. There are six seats undecided in regions where voting has been deemed too fraudulent or violent to be validated. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Egypt court allows monitoring of vote count with cameras
• Egyptian police blocking voters as final round of parliamentary elections begin
• Egypt keeping ban on Muslim Brotherhood despite electoral gains
• Egyptian judges reject parliamentary election results
• Hundreds detained in Egypt parliamentary election runoff
• Over 200 arrested in second round of Egypt parliamentary elections

[JURIST] Bruce Gordon [NAACP profile], president and chief executive of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) [advocacy website] on Tuesday urged [press release] that death row inmate and convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams [advocacy website biography] be granted clemency, calling him a secret weapon for helping young African-American men stay out of gangs. Williams, the co-founder of the murderous Crips gang [Wikipedia backgrounder] in Los Angeles, was convicted of killing four people during two 1979 robberies and is due to be executed on December 13. While spending two decades on death row at San Quentin Prison, Williams has written several children's books about the dangers of gang life. Last week, the California Supreme Court refused Williams' clemency request [JURIST report] and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday on whether his death sentence should be reduced to life without parole. State supreme court Chief Justice and Republican appointee Ronald George [official profile] said Tuesday that the state should execute death row inmates within five years of sentencing [JURIST report] or reprieve them, as opposed to waiting for twenty years or more as happens now. Gordon has delivered signed petitions [NAACP petition] to Schwarzenegger from more than 56,000 people calling for clemency for Williams. The NAACP also offers recorded video and recorded audio of Gordon's remarks. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] was questioned Tuesday by Federal Judge Claudio Pavez, who is investigating the killing of an army colonel, Gerardo Hube, who has been linked to a 1992 illegal arms sale. The judge's questioning came the same day that Pinochet was charged with separate human rights violations [JURIST report] stemming from the Operation Colombo [Wikipedia backgrounder] case, where 119 dissidents were found slain in Argentina in 1975. Those charges are in addition to other Operation Colombo allegations, on which Pinochet was indicted [JURIST report] and placed under house arrest in November. Earlier this month, a panel of judges rejected the defense's argument that Pinochet was too ill to face trial [JURIST report] on the charges. In addition to the human rights violations, Pinochet faces tax evasion and corruption charges [JURIST report]. Nobody has been formally charged with the death of Colonel Hube. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] announced [transcript] Wednesday that the US has changed its policy on the interrogations of detainees, and will impose a worldwide ban on US personnel subjecting prisoners to cruelty, citing obligations under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) [text]. The ban marks a staunch policy shift toward the international treaty, which prohibits cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, and follows strong pressure from Europe and the US Congress. The announcement is a surprise as Rice was expected to tell Europe [JURIST report] to back off its criticisms of US interrogation policy. The Bush administration had previously interpreted the convention to apply only to US territory, a loophole that human rights groups have said the US has exploited to mistreat prisoners in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. The new policy was announced during Rice's trip to Ukraine and marks an important concession in US domestic politics. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a former Vietnam prisoner of war, has mounted pressure on the administration to close the loophole with his proposed anti-torture amendment [JURIST document], which was approved [JURIST report] 90-9 in the Senate and later unanimously reaffirmed [JURIST report]. The White House has previously said it would veto any bill to which the amendment is attached. Reuters has more.

[JURIST Europe] A letter from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice may have been instrumental in preventing the UN’s World Summit on the Information Society [JURIST report] last month from making changes to the current control structure of the internet. The letter, co-signed by US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, was sent to British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw whose country currently holds the EU Presidency [official website]. The letter, dated November 7, read in part:

The governance structure and continued stability and sustainability of the Internet are of paramount importance to the United States. The Internet has become an essential infrastructure for global communications, including for global trade and commerce, and therefore we firmly believe that support for the present structures for Internet governance is vital. These structures have proven to be a reliable foundation for the robust growth of the Internet we have seen over the course of the last decade...

The Internet will reach its full potential as a medium and facilitator for global economic expansion and development in an environment free from burdensome intergovernmental oversight and control. The success of the Internet lies in its inherently decentralized nature, with the most significant growth taking place at the outer edges of the network through innovative new applications and services. Burdensome, bureaucratic oversight is out of place in an Internet structure that has worked so well for many around the globe. We regret the recent positions on Internet governance(i.e., the “new cooperation model”) offered by the European Union, the Presidency of which is currently held by the United Kingdom, seems to propose just that - a new structure of intergovernmental control over the Internet...

The United States and the European Union have long worked together toward the goal of global access to the Internet. The WSIS offers us the opportunity to reaffirm our partnership to spread the benefits of the Internet globally. At the same time, the security and stability of the Internet are essential to the United States, the European Union, and to the world. We firmly believe that the existing Internet system balances the stability and security we need with the innovation and dynamism that private sector leadership provides.

[JURIST Europe] Addressing the Dutch Parliament [official website] Tuesday, Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot [official profile] called assurances by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that the US does not conduct renditions for torture "unsatisfactory." The Netherlands has been reported as one of the countries in which CIA rendition flights made stop-overs. Bot nonetheless asserted that rendition itself was not a form of kidnapping. He wants Rice to provide more satisfactory answers during a meeting with foreign ministers of NATO [official website] states scheduled for Thursday, as Rice continues her five-day visit to Europe. Expatica has more.

Angela Onikepe is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.