[JURIST] Defense lawyers for former Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive; BBC profile] and seven other former officials on trial are expected to call 40 witnesses, a prosecutor in the case said Sunday. Included among the 40 are three former ministers in Saddam's government and others currently being held by the US in Iraq. Testimony from some of the witnesses is scheduled when the trial [JURIST news archive] resumes on Wednesday. All eight are being tried for ordering the 1982 massacre of 148 Shiites after an assassination attempt on Saddam. AFP has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Rice slams world 'boycott' of Saddam trial
• Former US AG Clark condemns treatment of Hussein
• Clark says witnesses against Saddam giving false testimony
• Saddam lawyers report security threats
• Saddam trial adjourned until Dec. 21

[JURIST] Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid [official website] on Sunday called for a congressional investigation into the Bush administration's use of domestic spying on terror suspects. Reid called for an investigation and hearings into the intelligence program overseen by the National Security Agency [official website]. Reid acknowledged being briefed about the program several months ago and he called for the prosecution of the person who leaked the existence of the program [JURIST report] to the media, but Reid said the program had gone on for too long. The Bush administration has defended the surveillance program [AFP report] as legal and insisted that there were no plans to end it, although US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] said its revelation to the public will harm its effectiveness. According to reports about the program, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks the administration allowed the NSA to monitor international communications originating from the US without warrants issued by courts. AP has more.

[JURIST] Opposition parties in Kazakhstan on Sunday announced they have challenged the results of an election on Dec. 4 [BBC report] that saw President Nursultan Nazarbayev [BBC profile] win another term. According to the opposition group "For a free Kazakhstan," it filed an appeal with the country's supreme court to have the results overturned. The results certified by the Central Election Commission showed Nazarbayev winning 91 percent of the vote, with his main challenger, former parliamentary speaker Zharmakhan Tuyakbai [campaign website, English version], only collecting 6.6 percent of the vote. International observers, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe [official website; OSCE news release] have raised doubts about the legitimacy [JURIST report] of the results. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A Jordan military court on Sunday sentenced al Qaeda's chief in Iraq Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [BBC profile] and two others to death for a failed suicide bombing on the country's border with Iraq last year. Al-Zarqawi and one of the other suspects were sentenced in absentia, but the third, Saudi Fahd Noman Suwelim al-Feheiqi, was present for the trial and claimed that he wanted to carry out the bombing. The court ruling is the second time that Jordan has sentenced Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi to death for a terror attack, and in March he was also sentenced to 15 years [JURIST report] in prison for an alleged plot to bomb the US embassy in Jordan. Al-Feheiqi was halted in the bombing attack in December 2004 when the car he was driving ran into a ditch, and al-Zarqawi and the other militant were both charged with conspiracy in the attempted attack. Al-Zarqawi remains at large in Iraq, where he has played a major role in the insurgency, and he is believed to be connected to bombings in Amman, Jordan in November that killed 60. AP has more.

[JURIST] Citizens of Congo [JURIST news archive] went to the polls Sunday for the first time in more than 30 years to vote on a draft constitution that could secure lasting peace in the country. Many of the 24 million registered voters in the country lined up outside polling stations early in the morning, with some banging on the doors to be allowed in to cast their ballots. Final results in the referendum are not expected before the end of the year. The draft constitution [AP summary], authored by members of a transitional government, will create 25 semi-autonomous regions in the country, and will set up a three-branch government led by a president. Some Congolese viewed the document skeptically after living for decades under the dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko followed by years of violence and reported human rights violations [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives on Saturday approved by voice vote the Terrorism Risk Insurance Extension Act of 2005 [bill summary], which will extend for two years the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 [PDF text], under which the federal government guarantees insurance coverage for catastrophic losses caused by terror attacks. The renewal legislation also passed by voice vote in the US Senate on Friday, and the bill now goes to President Bush for his signature. Earlier versions of the bill were approved [JURIST report] by Congress, and the compromise version reduces federal guarantees and requires private insurance companies to pay more initial costs, while moving to eventually eliminate government involvement in the terrorism insurance market. AP has more.

[JURIST] Texas Judge Pat Priest [official website] said Saturday that he will not immediately consider the request of Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) [official website; JURIST news archive] to separate criminal charges against him. Earlier this month, Priest threw out criminal conspiracy charges [JURIST report; JURIST document] against DeLay, leaving two money laundering charges [JURIST report]. DeLay has asked the judge to sever the charges, allowing a quick trial, but Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle [official website] asked the court last week to delay the trial [JURIST report] until an appeals court can decide whether to reinstate the conspiracy charges. Priest said Saturday that he would not act until the state appellate court rules and also cancelled an upcoming hearing where he was due to consider DeLay's allegations of prosecutorial misconduct [JURIST report; DeLay campaign website]. The Washington Post has more. The Houston Chronicle has local coverage.

[JURIST] US government attorneys have asked the US Supreme Court [official website] to deny certiorari in the Jose Padilla case [JURIST news archive], where the court would decide whether an enemy combatant can be held indefinitely without charge. Padilla, the so-called dirty bomber, was detained in 2002 and had challenged his continued detention with the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruling [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] in September that he could be held without charge indefinitely. The decision has been appealed to the Supreme Court [cert. petition, PDF; JURIST report], but in November, Padilla was charged [PDF indictment; JURIST report] with conspiracy to murder US nationals, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and providing material support to terrorists. DOJ lawyers on Friday asked the Court to dismiss the case as moot [opposition brief, PDF; appendix, PDF], arguing that Padilla has already been given the "very relief" he sought when he filed his habeas appeal and that if the Court were to rule in the case, the ruling "will have no practical effect" on Padilla. Earlier this month, the federal government asked the 4th Circuit to withdraw its ruling [JURIST report], saying the decision was made moot by Padilla's indictment. If the appeals court sets aside its ruling, Padilla's pending appeal to the Supreme Court may be rendered null and void because there would technically be no ruling to appeal. The New York Times has more.