[JURIST] The US Department of Defense [official website] announced Friday that it has brought charges [charge sheet; DOD press release] against a tenth Guantanamo Bay detainee. Abdul Zahir has been formally charged with conspiracy, aiding the enemy and attacking civilians, and is accused of working as a translator and money-man for former Taliban rulers in Afghanistan and with al Qaeda. The accusations also implicate Zahir in a 2002 grenade attack that injured three journalists. The DOD charged five other detainees [JURIST report] in November and the first four in 2004, but none of their trials under a tribunal of US military officers has been completed. The US Supreme Court is expected to hear a challenge [JURIST report] from Salim Ahmed Hamdan against President Bush’s power to create such military tribunals [JURIST news archive] to put Guantanamo prisoners on trial for war crimes. Pentagon officials said that only 50 to 75 of the approximately 500 Guantanamo detainees are likely to be charged because the DOD will only charge detainees whose actions rose to the level of war crimes. Aside from the ten detainees already charged, President Bush has declared four other detainees eligible for trial under the military tribunal. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A Chilean appeals court Friday stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] of immunity so he can face charges involving the torture of thousands of people at Villa Grimaldi [Wikipedia backgrounder], an infamous political detention center that was run by Pinochet’s secret police between 1974 and 1977. President-elect Michelle Bachelet [BBC profile; JURIST report] and her mother were detained at Villa Grimaldi in 1975 before going into exile, but the investigation into the torture of political prisoners does not involve her detention. The appeals court voted 13-5 in favor of stripping Pinnochet’s immunity, but the judgment will likely have to be upheld by Chile's Supreme Court before the first torture charges against Pinochet can be filed. Pinochet is already under indictment for tax fraud [JURIST report] and kidnapping [JURIST report], the latter in reference to people who disappeared in police custody and are presumed dead. Many military officers and former agents of Pinochet’s secret police have been convicted of human rights crimes, but Pinochet has not yet been charged with any human rights crimes because the Supreme Court has only recently ruled that he is fit to stand trial [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw [official website] denied Friday that he withheld any information from Parliament concerning Britain's involvement in secret CIA rendition flights [JURIST news archive] and also said that there had not been any flights through Britain since the September 11 attacks. Straw's statement to legislators came in response to a leaked memo [PDF text; JURIST report] Thursday suggesting that there had been more requests for rendition flights from the US than the four 1998 requests that British legislators were already aware of. The memo, dated in December 2005 and reported in Thursday's edition of the New Statesman magazine, was originally passed from Straw's Foreign and Commonwealth Office [official website] to the Prime Minister's office [official website] and examined the legality of rendition and extraordinary rendition flights, as well as strategies to address allegations from human rights groups that the CIA operated secret rendition flights across Europe. AP has more. BBC News has local coverage.

[JURIST] A California [JURIST news archive] proposal for a two-year death penalty [JURIST news archive] moratorium hit a permanent stumbling block in the California Assembly's Appropriations Committee Thursday. The moratorium proposal [PDF text] intended to suspend executions in California until a commission completed a review of California's death penalty, including an analysis of any condemned inmates who were wrongly convicted. Democratic Assemblyman Paul Koretz, the bill's sponsor, said he hopes to revive the effort in another proposal later this year. A number of DNA tests have exonerated death row inmates in recent years, prompting Illinois, and more recently New Jersey [JURIST report], to suspend executions. New Jersey became the first state to impose a moratorium via legislation last week, placing a moratorium on executions that will last until 60 days after a special commission releases its findings. California has approximately 650 inmates on death row, the largest of any state, and has exonerated six people with DNA tests. The state recently executed two inmates: Clarence Ray Allen [JURIST report], the oldest person on death row, and Stanley Tookie Williams [JURIST report], the infamous Crips gang co-founder. AP has more. The LA Times has local coverage.

[JURIST] Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge M. Brooke Murdock [official profile] on Friday ruled [opinion, PDF] against a 1973 state law that prohibits same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive], declaring that the statute subjects the plaintiff couples to a discriminatory classification based solely on their sexual orientation. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [official website] filed the case [JURIST report] last July on behalf of 19 gay men and women challenging the constitutionality of the law. Judge Murdock granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs in the case [ACLU materials], but stayed the decision pending any appeal because of its potential effects. The Maryland Attorney General [official website] has announced plans to appeal the decision and the state General Assembly [official website] recently began its 90-day session, and will likely take up the issue. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] US District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] on Friday sentenced former Pentagon analyst Lawrence A. Franklin [Wikipedia profile] to 12 years and 7 months in federal prison for leaking classified information in 2003 about potential attacks on US forces in Iraq. Franklin, who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in October, passed the information to an Israeli embassy official, Naor Gilon, and two former members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) [advocacy website] who allegedly disclosed the information to the press and foreign officials. He will not begin serving his sentence until after the trials of Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman [indictment, PDF; JURIST report], whose lawyers claim the lobbyists' discussions with Franklin are protected by the First Amendment. Ellis handed down a sentence, which could be decreased if Franklin cooperates in the Rosen and Weissman trials, that sits at the low end of federal sentencing guidelines because he believed Franklin's claim that he leaked the information to protect the US against threats from an unspecified nation in the Middle East. AP has more.

[JURIST] In a last-minute push to regain popular support in the final stages of the Canadian federal election campaign, Prime Minister Paul Martin has accused Conservative Party [party website] leader Stephen Harper [official profile] of planning to pack the Supreme Court of Canada [official website] with judges who would advance a socially-conservative agenda, override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text], outlaw same-sex marriage again and push Canada towards the views of the "extreme right" in the United States. Speaking in Toronto Thursday, Martin asked

Is Mr. Harper saying that he will be appointing judges to the Supreme Court based really on their political views? Are we going to find ourselves in the same situation that they are in the United States, where in fact it is not only the competence of a judge that governs, but in fact it is a judge's social views?Are we going to see a situation where what we're going to do is try to pack the court in order to overturn Charter rights?"

He talked about the courts standing between him and absolute power. Who talks that way? Who thinks that way? He spoke of the courts as his political opponents. He described them as an obstacle. A barrier between him and his agenda.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] on Friday unsealed the indictment [press release; speech text] of eleven people alleged to have carried out a series of arsons causing millions of dollars in damage in five Western states between 1996 and 2001 for the extremist ecology groups Earth Liberation Front (ELF) and Animal Liberation Front (ALF). The indictment [PDF text], returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday, included 65 counts of domestic terrorism on 17 sites in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming, including US Forest Service ranger stations, Bureau of Land Management wild horse facilities, meat processing companies, lumber companies, a high-tension power line, and a ski facility in Colorado. Eight of the indicted defendants were arrested [JURIST report] last month, while three defendants believed to be outside the US remain at large. The cases will be prosecuted by the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon [official website]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Turkish appeals court on Friday ordered Mehmet Ali Agca [Wikipedia profile], the man who shot Pope John Paul II [official website] in 1981, to return to prison and Agca was subsequently taken into custody in Istanbul. Agca was serving a 36-year sentence for murdering Turkish journalist Abdi Ipekci [profile] when he escaped from prison and shot the Pope in 1981. He then served 19 years of a life sentence in Italy for shooting the pontiff before being pardoned at the Pope's behest [CNN report] in 2000 and was extradited back to Turkey to complete his sentence. Agca was released on parole [JURIST report] earlier this month for good behavior, but Turkish Justice Minister Cemil Cicek asked the court [JURIST report] to return Agca to prison, arguing that time served in Italy should not be deducted from his sentence. The Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals of Criminal Department overturned the decision to release the would-be assassin, stating there was "no legal basis" to deduct Agca's time served in Italy. It is unknown how long Agca will remain in jail in Turkey, as he may face charges for robbing a factory and commandeering a vehicle in 1979 in addition to his remaining murder sentence. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Turkish justice minister appeals release of Pope John Paul II gunman
• Pope John Paul II gunman may return to prison
• Pope John Paul II shooter released from Turkish prison
• Pope John Paul II shooter may face new charges after prison release
• Pope John Paul II shooter to be released from Turkish prison

[JURIST] Japanese Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party leader Junichiro Koizumi [official profile] pledged to introduce a bill to reform the 1947 Imperial Household Law [text], allowing women to ascend to the country's imperial throne [JURIST report] during his annual keynote speech to parliament Friday. Under current law, a male must ascend to the throne, but no male has been born to the family since Prince Akishino [official profile] in 1965. The proposed change would place four-year-old Princess Aiko in the order of succession behind her father, Crown Prince Naruhito [official profile]. In addition, Koizumi restated his intent to step down in September when his current term ends, questioned a national referendum on revisions to the country's pacifist constitution [JURIST report], and promised to further improve relations with China and South Korea. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Former Serb commander Dragan Vasiljkovic was arrested [press release] in Australia [JURIST news archive] Thursday at the request of the Croatian government, who want to prosecute Vasiljkovic for war crimes committed during Croatia's 1991-1995 independence war. Vasiljkovic, now a citizen of Australia, is accused of torturing and killing Croat soldiers, civilians and prisoners of war and of involvement in the forced expulsion of entire villages in Serb-held territories in southern Croatia while he commanded a Serb paramilitary unit. Croatia [JURIST news archive] now has 60 days to make a request for Vasiljkovic's extradition [JURIST report], and Croatian Justice Minister Vesna Skare Ozbolt has said she plans to formally request his extradition next week. Former International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia deputy prosecutor Graham Blewitt said in December that Australia has become a safe haven for war criminals [JURIST report] avoiding prosecution because more than 30 suspected war criminals have been granted temporary residency there. Reuters has more. The Australian has local coverage.

[JURIST] Lawyers across the country filed motions Thursday asking immigration judges to reconsider sending illegal immigrants back to Haiti. The motions are in response to the decision of the Department of Homeland Security [official website] to continue deporting Haitian immigrants, despite the presence of widespread violence and human rights violations in the country. The United Nations [official website] and the State Department [official website] have both reported numerous rights violations [JURIST report] and kidnappings in Haiti since former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide [BBC profile] was ousted from power [JURIST report] in 2004. Lawyers say the immigrants should be granted temporary protected status, which protects immigrants whose return to their native countries presents an extreme threat, allowing them to remain in the United States until conditions improve. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] A group of retired military leaders have sent a letter [PDF text; press release] to President Bush seeking clarification on the president's plans to enforce a recently passed ban on the use of torture against terror detainees. Last month, when signing the 2006 defense spending bill [text; JURIST report], which contains the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 [JURIST document], President Bush issued a statement [JURIST document] asserting a right to bypass the torture ban [JURIST report] under his commander-in-chief powers. In the letter, 22 retired generals and admirals called for Bush to clarify his statement, saying:

It is incumbent on you as President and Commander-in-Chief to ensure that all senior members of your administration speak with a consistent voice to make clear that the United States now has a single standard of conduct specified in law that governs all interrogations, regardless of the legal status or the location of the detainee being interrogated. Accountability and deterrence have never been more important to end all torture and abuse in America's name, and thereby restore America's reputation in the world. This long overdue corrective action will require strong leadership from you and others in positions of authority.

[JURIST] The father of John Walker Lindh [CNN profile; JURIST news archive], the American caught fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, called on President Bush Thursday to grant his son clemency and commute his 20 year sentence in a speech to San Francisco's Commonwealth Club. Lindh, who was 20-years-old when captured in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty in 2002 to supplying services to the Taliban under a plea agreement [PDF text] with prosecutors. Lindh asked for a commuted sentence [JURIST report] in 2004, but then-Attorney General John Ashcroft denied the request [JURIST news archive]. Last month, lawyers for Lindh made a second request [JURIST report] for a commuted prison sentence. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Vice President Dick Cheney [official website] on Thursday defended the Bush administration's authorization of domestic surveillance [JURIST news archive] in the weeks following Sept. 11, saying the program is a crucial tool in monitoring terrorist organizations. In a speech [transcript] at the Manhattan Institute, Cheney objected to the characterization of the program as "domestic", stressing that the National Security Agency [official website] only intercepts "international communications, one end of which we have reason to believe is related to al Qaeda or to terrorist networks affiliated with al Qaeda." Cheney called the program "fully consistent with the constitutional responsibilities and legal authority of the President" and further defended its legality and importance:

These actions are within the President's authority and responsibility under the Constitution and laws; and these actions are vital to our security. This is a wartime measure, limited in scope to surveillance associated with terrorists, and conducted in a way that safeguards the civil liberties of our people. It is important to note that leaders of Congress have been briefed more than a dozen times on the President's authorization, and on the activities conducted under it. I've personally presided over most of those briefings. In addition, the entire program undergoes a thorough review within the executive branch every 45 days. After each review, the President determines once again whether or not to reauthorize the program. He has done so more than 30 times since September 11th -- and he has indicated his intent to do so as long as our nation faces a continuing threat from al Qaeda and related organizations.

[JURIST] The Shiite United Iraqi Alliance [BBC profile] won 128 of 275 seats in the Iraqi parliament, the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq (IECI) [official website] said Friday when it released final results [PDF text] from the December 15 parliamentary elections [JURIST news archive]. Results had been delayed pending the outcome of an investigation into alleged voting fraud [JURIST report], which culminated with the release of a report [text] Thursday by the International Mission for Iraqi Elections (IMIE). The IMIE found isolated instances of fraud [JURIST report] but certified voting procedures as consistent with international standards and endorsed the election results. Under the final results, which do not include tallies from 227 ballot boxes [JURIST report] set aside by the IECI after their own fraud investigation, the Shiite alliance did not capture an outright majority and will have to rule with coalition partners. Sunni parties won 55 seats, giving them a larger role in the legislature than they had following the January 2005 election. Two major Kurdish parties won 53 seats, a decrease from their representation in the outgoing parliament. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] has filed a motion [PDF text] in federal court seeking to compel Internet search giant Google [corporate website] to comply with a subpoena issued last summer. The subpoena requests that Google provide a "multi-stage random sample of one million URLs" and the text of search strings entered into Google databases over a one week period. Google has refused to comply, citing its privacy policy [text]. The DOJ wants the data in order to prepare a defense of the constitutionality of the Child Online Protection Act [text], which has been blocked from enforcement since 1998 as too broad. In its 2004 decision in Ashcroft v. ACLU [text; JURIST report], the US Supreme Court ruled that the law, which seeks to limit children's access to "material deemed harmful to minors", is likely an unconstitutional violation of free speech and remanded the case for findings on what technology would allow adults to see and buy the material while keeping it out of the hands of children. The DOJ has requested similar information from other search engines, and those engines, including Yahoo!, have complied with the subpoenas. AP has more.