[JURIST] A body found in a canal in Brussels, Belgium, was identified on Friday as that of an indicted Rwandan ex-minister cooperating with the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website]. Former Rwandan Commerce Minister Juvenal Uwilingiyimana was indicted by ICTR in June 2005 for conspiracy, incitement and murder in connection with its ongoing probe of the 1994 genocide, which resulted in the deaths of more than 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus [BBC report]. Uwilingiyimana expressed his desire to cooperate and was speaking to investigators but disappeared on November 21. Recognizing that "by cooperating with the Prosecutor...individuals mark themselves forever as traitors in some parts of their community and run the risk that vengeance will be taken against them or against their families", the ICTR took "extraordinary measures" to protect him, but his death appears to have confirmed his concerns about his own safety and that of his family. The ICTR's Prosecutor's Office Friday expressed the hope Belgian authorities would be able to apprehend and try those responsible for his death [ICTR press release]. UN News has more.

[JURIST] An Italian judge issued European arrest warrants on Friday for the 22 CIA operatives accused of participating in the kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in 2003 [JURIST report]. Milan prosecutor Armando Spataro said the warrants allowed for the arrest of those accused in any of the 25 European Union countries. Spataro has also filed a request for extradition of the 22 from the United States. Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli [official profile] has yet to forward the request to the US, however, questioning Spataro's motives [JURIST report] and requesting more court documentation. The 22 agents are accused of kidnapping cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr [Wikipedia profile], a suspected member of an Islamic military group, in Milan and then flying him to Egypt to be tortured. An Italian judge ruled in November that the former CIA station chief who is one of the 22 accused relinquished all immunity when he left his post [JURIST report]. US authorities have consistently declined to comment on the alleged kidnapping. AP has more.

[JURIST] Muslim-Americans attending an annual international religious conference [conference website; conference trailer, WMP] in Canada that began Friday and continues through January 4 may be subject to lengthy security checks upon their return to the United States after US District Court Judge William Skretny ruled Thursday that such searches were not unconstitutional. While he acknowledged "there is no information whatsoever to suggest, and the government does not contend, that Plaintiffs are anything other than law-abiding American citizens", Skretny concluded that American border control authorities "had reason to believe that these conferences would serve as meeting points for terrorists to exchange ideas and documents, co-ordinate operations, and raise funds intended for terrorist activities." The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) [advocacy website] had filed suit on behalf of five New York residents who were among dozens of people searched, fingerprinted, photographed, and held for hours before being allowed back into the US after attending last year's convention in Toronto, which drew some 10,000 Muslims from all over the world. Skretny admitted the stops were understandably frustrating, but not illegal. The NYCLU claimed [press release] that searches without suspicion based solely on attendance at the conference treated innocent US citizens as terrorists. Several of the plaintiffs still planned to attend the 2005 conference after the ruling; the NYCLU has made available an online intake form for them and others to fill out if they are stopped again. CBC has local coverage. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Senate Juduciary Committee ranking Democrat Patrick Leahy suggested [press release] Friday that US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito [JURIST archive] will face additional questions at his January confirmation hearing on unchecked presidential authority and the particular issue of warrantless eavesdropping after the US National Archives earlier Friday released a 1984 Justice Department memo Alito wrote expressing the view that the Attorney General should be immune from suit over illegal wiretaps [PDF text]. The memo was written in connection with a Reagan-era case involving wiretaps ordered by former Attorney General John Mitchell during an investigation into a suspected plot to kidnap National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. Alito's position could prove to be especially controversial in light of recent disclosures that after September 11 President Bush authorized the National Security Agency to conduct domestic surveillance on American residents, a program the legality of which has been vigorously defended by the administration but disputed by Democrats [JURIST report] and a variety of academic experts [JURIST Forum article]. Bloomberg has more. Other Alito materials released Friday by the National Archives included a 1985 memo in which Alito appeared to endorse the overturning of Roe v. Wade [JURIST report].

[JURIST] In response to a series of deadly bombings in recent months, the government of Bangladesh [official website] plans to introduce a new anti-terrorist law to counter Islamist militants. The attacks, aimed at judges, lawyers, police and journalists, have killed 30 people since August. A bombing at a court complex in December left 25 wounded [JURIST report] while days earlier two judges were killed in another bomb attack [JURIST report]. Police have arrested nearly 800 suspects so far in their investigations, most of them suspected members of the militant group Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The proposed new law, expected to come before the Bangladesh parliament in January, would set a death sentence for those convicted of terrorist acts and would create special tribunals to speed up terror trials. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Khalil Dulaimi, chief Iraqi lawyer for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive], claimed Friday in an interview with the Associated Press that his client had been "severely tortured" by Americans during his detention, bolstering Saddam's own claims [JURIST report] dramatically made in court Wednesday. He said that three medical teams had found evidence of abuse and that he himself had seen bruises on Hussein's body and had filed a complaint with the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website]. US officials have repeatedly denied allegations that Hussein had been tortured in US custody [White House transcript] and the Iraqi investigating judge who put together the case against Hussein has stated that the former president always answered "No" when asked if he had been abused [JURIST report]. On Friday Dulaimi also claimed violations of the Geneva Convention because Hussein and his defense lawyers were only allowed one 10 minute session together during this week's trial proceedings under the surveillance of cameras and guards. Iraqi chief prosecutor Jaafar al-Mousawi plans to visit Hussein and his co-defendants to listen and review their health and needs. The trial has been adjourned until January 24 [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A court in London ruled Friday that the former Vice-President of crippled Russian oil-giant Yukos [corporate website; JURIST news archive], Aleksander Temerko, currently living in Britain, cannot be extradited to Russia, saying that he would likely not receive a fair trial there. Temerko became Vice-President of Yukos in 2003 after former owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky [MosNews profile; JURIST news archive] was sentenced to eight years in jail on charges of fraud and tax evasion. Prosecutors in Russia have claimed that Temerko took part in defrauding a state oil company. A number of experts who testified during Temerko's hearing concluded that the charges against Yukos are politically motivated; Temerko has publicly stated that the Yukos charges are an attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website] to silence his political opposition. Russian legal counsel in London are considering appealing the extradition denial. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A federal judge has granted a temporary injunction against a new California law [text] banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors sought by the Video Software Dealers Association [trade website] and the Entertainment Software Association [trade website]. In a ruling issued Wednesday, US District Court Judge Ronald Whyte stated the industry groups were likely to succeed in their lawsuit challenging the legislation based on grounds of free speech. The groups filed suit in October [JURIST report] seeking to enjoin enforcement of the law which would subject them to a $1,000 fine per infraction. The judge expressed his concerns about the causal connection between the access to violent video games and psychological or other harm to children. State officials, including California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, say the law will help parents determine which video games are appropriate for their children and that the state has a valid interest in protecting children from harmful exposure to violent video games. A judge in Illinois recently ruled in favor of the video game industry [JURIST report], overturning that state's "safe games" law. AP has more.

[JURIST] Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Derbez [profile] plans to travel to Washington on December 29 to meet with US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick [official profile] to discuss a proposed 800-mile wall to be built along the US-Mexico border [JURIST report; NYT coverage]. The US House of Representatives passed [JURIST report] a controversial border security bill [text, PDF] earlier this month providing, among other things, for the construction of security fencing, lights and cameras along the Mexican border. The Mexican government has strongly opposed the measure, calling on Latin American countries to oppose the wall [ABC News report] and hiring a public relations firm [AP report] to improve the country's image in the US. Former Foreign Secretary and Finance Minister Jose Angel Gurria said, "I very strongly hope and actually believe [it] is not going to pass and is going to be modified by the Senate and produce something more reasonable and more balanced that takes into account the realities. Walls are not the solution, walls are not the answer. It is not going to work." The US Senate is expected to consider the bill in February. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Adel Yahya, a 23-year old student, appeared in a London court Friday after being charged under the Terrorism Act of 2000 [text] with conspiracy to cause explosions in connection with his alleged role in planning a failed series of attacks [JURIST report] on the London transit system on July 21, 2005, two weeks after the devastating July 7 London bombings [JURIST news archive] killed 56 people - including four suicide bombers - and injured some 700. Five other men, Muktar Said Ibrahim, Ramzi Mohamed, Yassin Omar, Hussein Osman and Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, have already been charged [JURIST report] with conspiracy to murder. Ten more face charges for failing to cooperate with the investigation and assisting suspects in evading arrest. Yahya is believed to have conspired with Ibrahim, Omar, Osman, and Asiedu. BBC News has more.

Previously on JURIST's Paper Chase:

• Trial set for London bombing suspects
• British police arrest suspect in failed bomb attack
• London bombing suspect charged with attempted murder after extradition from Italy
• Three main suspects in July 21 London bombings appear in court
• First suspect in failed July 21 London bombings charged

[JURIST] A Dutch court Friday sentenced a Dutch businessman to the maximum term of 15 years in prison for complicity in war crimes for selling chemicals used to produce mustard gas to Saddam Hussein's government. Frans van Anraat [BBC profile], who went on trial [JURIST report] in The Hague a month ago, was himself acquitted of genocide charges [JURIST report], but for the first time the court recognized that the killing of thousands of Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s, including 5000 at Halabja [US State Department backgrounder] in 1988, was an act of genocide. The ruling stated, "The court has no other conclusion than that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq." The verdict is not expected to play a role in the present charges against Saddam Hussein, now on trial for crimes against humanity in Baghdad. Van Anraat, who was arrested in Italy in 1989 [Reuters backgrounder] and later in the Netherlands in 2004 [JURIST report], admitted to supplying the chemicals, but denied knowing what they would be used for. BBC News has more. From Amsterdam, Volkskrant provides local coverage in Dutch.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that new US Department of Justice documents released Friday by the National Archives include a 1985 statement by US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito [JURIST news archive] that the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion ruling should be overturned. Review the full text of the newly-released documents.

10:29 AM ET - The June 3, 1985 Alito memo on Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [1986 US Supreme Court ruling text] cited by AP [report] is merely a corrected version of a May 30 draft memo [JURIST report] by Alito released by the Archives on November 30 which has already drawn fire from Democrats. In both, Alito wrote:

...no one seriously believes that the Court is about to overrule Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). But the Court's decision to review these cases nevertheless may be a positive sign. Both court of appeals decisions purported to apply Supreme Court precedents in areas that the Court has already (and recently) explored. There are no conflicting court of appeals decisions. If the Supreme Court had agreed with the Third and Seventh Circuit decisions, it most likely would have summarily affirmed. Thus, by taking these cases, the Court may be signalling an inclination to cut back. What can be made of this opportunity to advance the goals of bringing about the eventual overruling of Roe v. Wade and, in the meantime, of mitigating its effects?...

We should file a brief as amicus curiae supporting appellants... In the course of the brief, we should make clear that we disagree with Roe v. Wade and would welcome the opportunity to brief the issue of whether, and if so to what extent, that decision should be overruled. Then, without great formal discussion of levels of scrutiny or degrees of state interest, we should demonstrate that many of the provisions struck down by the Third and Seventh Circuits are eminently reasonable and legitimate and would be upheld without a moment's hesitation in other contexts. If the Court can be convinced to sustain these regulations, it may have to adjust its standard of review....

I find this approach preferable to a frontal assault on Roe v. Wade. It has most of the advantages of a brief devoted to the overruling of Roe v. Wade: it makes our position clear, does not even tacitly concede Roe's legitimacy, and signals that we regard the question as live and open. At the same time, it is free of many of the disadvantages that would accompany a major effort to overturn Roe. When the Court hands down its decision and Roe is not overruled, the decision will not be portrayed as a stinging rebuke. We also will not forfeit the opportunity to address--and we will not prod the Court into summarily rejecting--the important secondary arguments outlined above.

[JURIST] Uganda [JURIST news archive] announced Thursday it would commence reparation negotiations with the Democratic Republic of Congo [JURIST news archive] in late 2006, following Monday's International Court of Justice ruling [JURIST report; PDF text] that Uganda violated Congo's sovereignty during a 1998-2003 war [BBC backgrounder] and was responsible for human rights abuses and the plundering of Congolese natural resources. A top civil servant in the Ugandan foreign affairs ministry reiterated the country's claim that it acted in self-defense, saying "We reject all those accusations but we shall sort them out in the negotiations. Our troops were there to liberate Congo and defend our sovereignty ... It is going to be a slow and quiet negotiation involving no third parties." Congolese officials have demanded reparations [JURIST report] of between 6 to 10 billion dollars. The ICJ says it will establish the amount of reparations itself if the two nations cannot agree. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former US Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle [official profile; advocacy website] denied in an editorial in the Washington Post Friday that the post-9/11 congressional Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) provided any basis for warrantless National Security Agency wiretapping within the United States [JURIST report]. He wrote:

As Senate majority leader at the time, I helped negotiate that law with the White House counsel's office over two harried days. I can state categorically that the subject of warrantless wiretaps of American citizens never came up. I did not and never would have supported giving authority to the president for such wiretaps. I am also confident that the 98 senators who voted in favor of authorization of force against al Qaeda did not believe that they were also voting for warrantless domestic surveillance.

[JURIST] The office of the UN Independent Inquiry Committee (IIC) [official website] tasked with investigating the oil-for-food program [official website; JURIST news archive] will remain open an additional three months, until March 31, so prosecutors can assist "duly authorized law enforcement and regulatory agencies in cases they may be pursuing against companies, individuals and entities," the UN announced Thursday. The IIC, led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker [official profile], will not continue its own investigation and will disband as planned on December 31, but will assist prosecutors around the world with their own investigations. Several countries have commenced their own investigations after the IIC's October 27 report [JURIST report] accused more than 2,200 companies in 66 countries of channeling $1.8 billion to Saddam Hussein's government. South African Judge and IIC Commissioner Richard Goldstone [official profile] said, "Anything that we are able legally and morally to share with a prosecutor or authority of any country, we will be more than willing to do that." Reuters has more. The UN News Center has additional coverage.

[JURIST] A coalition of Sunni and secular Shiite political groups said Thursday that they would boycott sessions of the new Iraqi national assembly elected on December 15 [IECI partial uncertified results] unless an independent review of the poll was conducted by an international body such as the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of the Islamic Conference or the Arab League. In a joint statement the 35 political entities - including that of former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi [JURIST news archive] - also demanded the disbanding of the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq [official website] in the wake of more than 1250 complaints alleging fraud [JURIST report], stuffing of ballot boxes, or voter intimidation. A UN spokesman in New York said the UN would not conduct any review of the Iraqi poll. AP has more.

[JURIST] A US District Court judge Thursday dismissed a civil suit accusing Pope Benedict XVI [official profile] of conspiring to conceal clergy sex abuse [JURIST news archive], citing the pontiff's immunity as head of the Vatican state [official website]. Judge Lee Rosenthal, of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, ruled in response to a "Suggestion of Immunity" submitted by the Department of Justice [JURIST report], requesting the Pope be granted immunity because of incompatibility with the "United States' foreign policy interests." Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that Benedict, while serving as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [official website; Wikipedia backgrounder], conspired with the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston [diocesan website] to cover up the abuse of three male children in the mid-1990's. A lawyer for the Pope said the ruling was significant because it treated the religious leader as the head of a foreign state. AP has more.

[JURIST] Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] and his seven co-defendants previously denied in court that they had been beaten by American guards, Iraqi investigative judge Raed Juhi said Thursday. Hussein alleged earlier this week in trial proceedings that he had been beaten "everywhere on my body" [JURIST report] and that American abuse denials could not be believed [JURIST report]. Juhi, who prepared the case against Hussein, said that Iraqi officials never witnessed any signs of abuse, nor did defendants or their lawyers complain of beatings.

Also on Thursday, Hussein's lawyers made another public statement urging the Iraqi government to provide them with protection, citing a specific threat against former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark [JURIST news archive]. The request sought "all those responsible for human rights to urgently intervene to defend international law, human rights and the right of the defendants, their lawyers and witnesses for protection." AP has additional coverage of Hussein's abuse claims and the call for protection.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase:

• Saddam lawyers report security threats
• Saddam defense team questions court legitimacy, security as trial resumes
• Saddam lawyers to attend trial resumption despite security concerns
• Saddam trial lawyer flees Iraq, seeks asylum in Qatar
• Iraqi government claims Saddam agents murdering defense lawyers to halt trial