[JURIST] The Washington State Senate [official website] on Friday passed a landmark gay civil rights bill [HB 2661 text, PDF; additional materials] that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, lending and employment. The legislation was approved by the House [Post-Intelligencer report] last week, but was amended in the Senate and must go back to the House for final approval, which is expected later Friday. Gov. Christine Gregoire [official website] has indicated that she will sign the legislation. Supporters of the measure have been trying to get a version of the bill passed for almost 30 years. Opponents say that the bill is unnecessary and could lead to same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. Approval of the legislation would make Washington the 17th state in the nation with an anti-discrimination law that covers sexual orientation. The Seattle Times has more.

5:40 PM ET - The Washington House has now approved the amended Senate version of the bill - adding that the legislature does not endorse homosexuality and that the law does not supersede state law on marriage - and has sent the measure to the Governor for signature, expected next Tuesday. AP has more.

[JURIST] British police Friday charged Muhedin Ali, 27, in connection with the attempt to bomb the London subway and a bus on July 21, 2005. Ali was arrested January 17 and is charged with helping another bomber, Hussein Osman, evade arrest. Ali is the 17th person charged over the attacks that failed when the bombs did not detonate. The attempted attacks were scheduled two weeks after a suicide bombing attack [JURIST news archive] that killed 52 people and the bombers themselves. The individuals who have been arrested and indicted are scheduled to stand trial in September. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Russian Justice Ministry [official website, in Russian] has asked a court to close down the Russian Human Rights Research Center, a major human rights umbrella group, based on allegations that the center has not filed reports on its activities for over five years. Valentina Melnikova, a member of the center's board, claims that the government has no basis for such allegations, which are part of a campaign by President Vladimir Putin [official website] and his administration to shut down human rights groups and non-governmental organizations. Putin has warned NGOs not to engage in political activity, including human rights activity, and earlier this month signed a law [JURIST report] giving the government tighter control over foreign NGOs operating in Russia. Putin has said the widely criticized [JURIST report] law is necessary to stem terrorism and extremism, but critics say that Putin may be suspicious of human rights groups and groups promoting democracy since opposition leaders have gained power in neighboring former Soviet republics following mass protests. Activists claim that the government restrictions resemble the repression in the USSR before its fall. AP has more.

[JURIST] US military forces in Iraq have detained wives of suspected insurgents in an attempt to "leverage" their husbands' surrender on at least two occasions, according to documents released by the military to the ACLU under the rights group's ongoing FOIA requests [ACLU materials]. In a May 2004 incident [memorandum, PDF] a mother of three young children was detained "in order to leverage the primary target's surrender" over the objections of a veteran officer and held for two days. In a separate incident, a series of e-mails [PDF text] show a discussion of female detainees held in northern Iraq, with one Army colonel asking "What are you guys doing to try to get the husband - have you tacked a note on the door and challenged him to come get his wife?" Iraqi justice officials have denied claims that anti-insurgent units have detained wives to pressure their husbands, saying that the tactic was used under Saddam Hussein's regime and that "we are not Saddam." In January 2004, Human Rights Watch sent a letter [text] to US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld raising concerns [JURIST report] that the US had violated the Fourth Geneva Convention [text] by arresting relatives of Iraqi fugitives. Collective punishment [Wikipedia backgrounder] - imposing sanctions on other persons for the wrong of another - is prohibited under international human rights law. AP has more.

[JURIST] Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) [official profile] said Friday that detainees at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] who have been in the camp up to four years should have their cases heard and decided. Speaking to Associated Press at the World Economic Forum [official website] in Switzerland, McCain said: "All human beings, no matter how evil they are, have the right to some kind of adjudication ... There should be some kind of system set up so their cases can be decided." Referring to the so-called McCain Amendment [JURIST document] to the 2006 military spending bill, banning cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees, he added that it was critical to "adhere to treaties that we are signatories to and observe basic human rights and obey the law that we just passed concerning cruel and inhumane and degrading treatment". Observers have expressed fear that the McCain measure might yet be nullified by President Bush's signing statement asserting a right to bypass the law [JURIST report], as well as stymied by the Graham-Levin Amendment [JURIST document] which severely limits access of detainees to the US federal courts. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US expects a major overhaul of the discredited UN Commission on Human Rights [official website] to occur this year, but will insist upon an actual improvement of the current model rather than adherence to artificial deadlines, the State Department's lead negotiator Mark Lagon [official profile] said at a Washington roundtable on UN reform [JURIST news archive; State Department backgrounder] Thursday. The commission has come under fire since President Bush and other world leaders questioned the role of countries with poor human rights records on the commission during the UN's 2005 World Summit [official website], and US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton [official profile] has recently pledged [JURIST report] to renew negotiations as to the final terms of the new body. Lagon also praised the creation of the United Nations Democracy Fund [official website], which will lend financial support to emerging democracies. He has emphasized the United States' desire for the UN to more actively promote democracy around the world [statement] in the past. The Washington Times has more. The State Department's Washfile has additional coverage.

[JURIST] International arrest warrants have been issued for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC profile] and husband Asif Ali Zardari [BBC profile] on charges of corruption in a number of unspecified cases stemming from the former prime minister's term in office from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Interpol [official website] issued "red notices" Thursday, which serve to inform other countries that arrest warrants exist for the pair, but leave it up to individual countries to take action. The exiled prime minister and her husband reside in Britain and the United Arab Emirates, but are currently on a lecture tour in the United States. Bhutto informed reporters [press release] at a press conference Thursday that they plan to return to Pakistan to face the charges. Zardari, a senior politician from the Pakistan Peoples Party [party website], spent eight years in detention on corruption charges before being released on bail last year, and both Bhutto and Zardari have been convicted in absentia on separate corruption charges. Pakistani officials are also pursuing a case involving money laundering charges in Switzerland. Bhutto was convicted in 2003 in Switzerland, but the conviction was thrown out on appeal. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US military in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive] began court-martial proceedings [press release] Friday for a US soldier accused of abusing detainees [JURIST report] last year in the southern Uruzgan province. Army Spc. James Hayes is accused of punching detainees in the chest, shoulders, and stomach during the incident, and faces charges of conspiracy to maltreat, dereliction of duty, maltreatment of detainees, and assault consummated by battery. Fellow soldier, Army Sgt. Kevin Myricks will face similar charges on Monday, and another soldier has already been punished under the Uniform Code of Military Justice [text] for not reporting the incident at the time it took place. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Marvin Bieghler [NCADP profile] was executed in Indiana Friday morning after the US Supreme Court overturned a stay ordered by the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Bieghler was convicted for the 1981 deaths of Tommy Miller, who Bieghler suspected tipped police to Bieghler's drug dealing activities, and Miller's pregnant wife, Kimberly Jane Miller. Bieghler had appealed his death sentence to the US Supreme Court, challenging Indiana's use of lethal injection as cruel and unusual punishment, but on Thursday the Court denied a stay of execution [order, PDF] despite having agreed the day before to hear a similar appeal. Florida death row inmate Clarence Hill [NCADP advocacy letter] is challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection, and the Court on Wednesday agreed to hear his case [JURIST report], though it will limit its consideration to whether Hill was entitled to file a challenge to the state's execution method. After the Supreme Court refused to consider Bieghler's appeal from state courts, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ordered its own delay of the execution, but that ruling was overturned [order, PDF] by the Supreme Court early Friday morning. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Indonesian government [official website in Bahasa Indonesian; CIA backgrounder] on Thursday submitted a draft law to parliament that would grant the Aceh province [JURIST news archive] some degree of self-rule. The proposal comes after the historic signing of a peace accord [PDF text; JURIST report] in August between Indonesia and the rebel group, Free Aceh Movement (GAM) [BBC backgrounder]. The legislation will be debated soon, and is expected to be a divisive issue within the Indonesia House of Representatives [DPR official website]. Legislators have expressed concern over a few articles of the draft, including one which allows the formation of local political parties in the province. The degree of autonomy granted to Aceh through the new legislation is also expected to receive heavy debate. If passed, the law would come into effect on March 31. AFP has more. The Jakarta Post has local coverage.

[JURIST] Canadian Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper [official website], elected earlier this week and slated to be sworn in February 6 by Canada's Governor-General [official website], went out of his way at his first news conference [transcript] Thursday to reassert the importance of Canada's Arctic sovereignty. Responding to a comment by US Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins [official profile] that the Northwest Passage through the Arctic between the Atlantic and the Pacific was "neutral waters", Harper insisted that Canada could defend its legal claim to the Passage [backgrounder]. "The United States defends its sovereignty and the Canadian government will defend our sovereignty," he said. "It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador of the United States." During the election campaign he said his government would deploy three new military icebreakers [speech transcript; policy statement] in the area and establish a series of listening posts. US vessels and submarines have transited the Passage for years, and while Canada has formally objected, it has generally turned a blind eye to the incursions. Recently, however, the Passage has shown signs of melting [CNN report], and if the trend continues it could become a more usable global navigation channel that could cut thousands of miles off traditional Europe-Pacific routes through the Panama canal, significantly raising the stakes on the sovereignty issue [backgrounder]. While Harper and his Conservative Party [official website] are seen as more inclined towards the US than the outgoing Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin, Harper's comments are also seen as a signal to the US and to Canadians of all political stripes that he will not be a pushover. CBC News has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] on Thursday dismissed [PDF opinion] a lawsuit challenging federal airport regulations that require passengers to show identification before boarding airplanes. Libertarian activist John Gilmore [advocacy website; case materials] had argued that the regulations, which have not been publicly disclosed, constituted an illegal search and violated his right to travel freely. The federal appeals court reviewed the regulations in private and rejected his arguments, saying that the regulations are not overly intrusive. The court noted that under the policy, passengers not wishing to show an ID can submit to searches and also said that the regulations didn't restrict Gilmore's right to travel freely because he had other ways of getting around. AP has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers representing I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [JURIST news archive], Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff indicted in the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive], have asked the federal judge presiding over the case to force prosecutors to turn over information about what reporters knew about Valerie Plame before her identity was publicly disclosed. Libby has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to charges [PDF indictment; JURIST report] of obstructing justice, perjury and making false statements. In the motion Thursday, his lawyers said the requested documents concern three issues: what the press knew about Plame's work before her identity was disclosed in a July 2003 column, where they learned the information, and with whom was the information discussed. Libby's lawyers are also requesting the use of classified evidence [JURIST report] and plan to subpoena journalists [JURIST report] and news organizations for reporters' notes and records. Reuters has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: The Devil in the Details: The CIA Leak Case | Op-ed: The Indictment of Scooter Libby: Bad News for Journalism

[JURIST] Leading Friday's international brief, the UN Security Council [official website] is considering sanctions against both rebel and government elements in Cote d'Ivoire that are accused of purposefully delaying and sabotaging fragile peace negotiations in the nation, which has been the scene of armed conflict since rebels seized the northern territories in 2002. Several hundred UN staffers have been evacuated from the country as fears of violence increase. The Council is expected to reach a decision on sanctions as early as Friday. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Cote d'Ivoire [JURIST news archive]. IRIN News has more.

In other international legal news ...

• Over 150 protesters have been arrested in Nepal [government website] following their attempt to enforce the "Nepal bandh" - a nation-wide shutdown strike over government crackdowns on human rights violations and political party repression. The strike was held on the same day as municipal elections promised by King Gyanendra [JURIST report] in response to pressure from other nations over the current lack of democratic government in Nepal. Nepalese news services confirmed that police in several cities opened fire on protesters, in some cases injuring civilians, while trying to disburse crowds. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. NepalNews.com has local coverage.
  
  
• The States Parties to the Rome Statute [official PDF text] of the International Criminal Court [official website] have elected six judges to serve on the bench of the ICC for nine years, beginning on March 11. The candidates all had substantial experience in either criminal or international law and were nominated based on merit, the "need for representation of the principal legal systems of the world; equitable geographical distribution; and fair representation of female and male judges." The ICC has yet to hear a case, but may soon be presented with proceedings out of Congo, Uganda, or Sudan. The elected judges were Mr. Hans-Peter Kaul (Germany), Mr. Erkki Kourula (Finland), Ms. Akua Kuenyehia (Ghana), Mr. Sang-hyun Song (Republic of Korea), Ms. Ekaterina Trendafilova (Bulgaria), and Ms. Anita Ušacka (Latvia). JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the ICC. Read the official UN press release. The UN News Centre has more.
  
  
• Kenyan Chief Justice Evan Gicheru has announced a sweeping plan to raise the level of competence and professionalism in the Kenyan judiciary. Gicheru said that all new employees to the Kenyan judiciary would have to be approved by the Council of Legal Education and would have to demonstrate aptitude with certain basic skills before being hired. Additionally, a government-sponsored judicial training institute has been approved and only lacks logistical approval for its location and funding. The institute will be responsible for training current members of the judiciary and their support staff to minimum standards and upgrading of skills as the legal profession evolves. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Kenya [JURIST news archive]. Kenya's East African Standard has local coverage.