[JURIST] A Council of Europe [official website] report to be officially released on Wednesday contains a scathing 200-page criticism of France's record on human rights. The report, based on inspections of prisons and police precincts in September 2005, cites a disparity in law and practice in France, referencing police brutality, overcrowded prisons, weak investigation into racially-motivated crimes, and incarceration of minors with adult offenders. COE Human Rights Commissioner Alberto Gil-Robles [official website] also refers in the report to the increasing number of French cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights [official website] in recent years.

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin [official website, BBC profile] said in January that racial and religious attacks had declined [JURIST report] from previous years in 2005, despite last fall's riots in immigrant neighborhoods [JURIST report]. The Council's report contains 50 recommendations to the French authorities on ways to improve police practices and improve areas such as treatment of Roma minorities and asylum seekers. AFP has more. Le Monde has local coverage.

[JURIST] The criminal investigation into government leaks which led to the New York Times' disclosure [JURIST report] of the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program [JURIST archive] is expanding, as federal agents have increased the number of interviews of law enforcement and national security officials. Those close to the investigation have suggested that the investigation may lead to a grand jury inquiry and criminal charges for violating espionage laws that bar the disclosure or dissemination of national security information. CIA Director Porter Goss published an op-ed [text] in the New York Times on Friday criticizing federal agents who leaked information to the media about the surveillance program and also expressed his hope that a grand jury hearing would include reporters who reveal their agency sources. The Times executive editor has said that no one at the paper has yet been contacted in connection with the investigation.

The Department of Justice launched the investigation [JURIST report] at the end of last year at the request of NSA officials. Meanwhile, critics in Washington continue to press arguments that the domestic eavesdropping violates the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text], though the administration has continued its strong defense of the program, most recently with testimony [JURIST report] from US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official website] before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Earlier this week, US Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) [official website] called for a review of FISA [JURIST report] and US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] announced plans to introduce a bill that would require court supervision of the surveillance program. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [official profile] announced Saturday that Thailand [government website] will hold a national referendum on whether to amend the nine-year-old Thai Constitution [text] April 19 in conjunction with the country's next Senate election. Thaksin, who has faced recent calls for his resignation, made the announcement prior to an anti-government demonstration expected to draw tens of thousands of protestors. Publisher Sondhi Limthongkul [Wikipedia profile], a vocal opponent of the Thaksin government, organized Saturday's rally after a similar demonstration last weekend drew 60,000 protestors. Critics of the 1997 constitution claim it has permitted the ruling governmental party to amass power despite its initial intent to promote democracy. AP has more. Reaction in Thailand to the announcement has so far been distinctly mixed [Bangkok Post report].

[JURIST] Military leaders in Myanmar on Saturday announced that Win Aung, Myanmar's former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [official website], has been put before a special tribunal at the Insein jail [BBC backgrounder] to face charges of abusing his powers while he was in office. Aung held his position as foreign affairs minister until October 2004, when he was purged along with former Prime Minister Khin Nyunt [BBC profile], who military leaders forced from power after accusing him of bribery and corruption.

At one point Nyunt took a hard line against the pro-democracy movement in Myanmar, but eventually he became more reform-minded, at one point voicing his willingness to meet with the high profile activist Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. Nyunt received a 44 year suspended sentence [JURIST report] for his alleged abuses, and is currently under house arrest. Win Aung was a perceived ally to the former Prime Minister. AFP has more.

[JURIST] John Bolton [official profile], the US ambassador to the United Nations (UN) [official website], said Friday that the US remains concerned about Syrian government interference [text of remarks] with the UN probe [UN materials] into the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive]. Bolton met Friday with Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz [UN profile], the former deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who is leading the UN probe after taking over for German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis last month.

Bolton declined to discuss the specifics of his conversation with Brammertz but said the US will continue to watch the situation "very closely." No one has been formally charged in connection with Hariri's death, though Mehlis' early reports to the UN Security Council have implicated Syrian officials [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Speaker of the US House of Representatives Dennis Hastert (R-IL) [official website] on Friday announced his support for a deal [JURIST report] reached earlier this week by Senate Republicans and the White House on long-term renewal of the USA Patriot Act [JURIST news archive]. Key Democrats and Republicans in the Senate had expressed strong reservations about earlier versions of a renewal agreement, which they said left too broad the power of the federal government to conduct ongoing surveillance and warrantless searches at the expense of individual liberties. The reservations led to a renewal bill stalling in the Senate [JURIST report] in December, a development which forced two short-term extensions to keep important provisions from expiring.

Changes in the new compromise version of the legislation include protections for libraries from special non-judicial subpoenas, and giving individuals an opportunity to challenge gag orders when subpoenaed by federal investigators seeking library, medical or other sensitive records. The Senate will likely vote on the extension next week, and Speaker Hastert on Friday promised that if the legislation went through there it would pass the House as well. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) [Wikipedia backgrounder], an umbrella organisation of French Muslim groups, said Friday it will sue several French newspapers that republished controversial caricatures of Muhammad [JURIST news archive] which were originally printed in a Danish newspaper in September. Although the Council has taken lawyers' advice, the legal basis for its suit is not yet clear. Five French newspapers - Liberation, Le Figaro, Le Parisien, France Soir, and Charlie-Hebdo - have so far published the drawings, but a CFCM official said the suit will likely focus on the daily France Soir and the satirical weekly Charlie-Hebdo. Jacques Lefranc, the former editor of France Soir, was fired last week [BBC report] following his decision to republish the cartoons. Aljazeera has more.

Meanwhile Denmark's Foreign Ministry [official website; special drawings website] announced Saturday that it would temporarily pull its ambassadors from Syria [press release], Iran, and Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, because of threats to the envoys' safety and the inadequacy of available local protection. Mobs have targeted the Danish embassy buildings in each of the countries. The governments of Germany, Finland, and the Netherlands will take over Denmark's consular services in Syria, Iran, and Indonesia respectively for the time being. AP has more.

3:29 PM ET - Top Saudi cleric Sheik Abdul Rahman al-Seedes has also demanded that the authors and publishers of the caricatures be put on trial. In his weekly sermon at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, al-Seedes called for laws to be enacted that would condemn insults against Muhammad and holy sites. AP has more.

[JURIST] Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [official website; BBC profile] said Saturday that Iran [JURIST news archive] may reconsider its participation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) [text] but would not immediately withdraw from the pact. Speaking on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Ahmadinejad said Iran would reevaluate its position if other nations use its membership as a means to pressure its nuclear decision-making.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [official website] Board of Governors voted [JURIST report] last week to report Iran to the UN Security Council [official website] based on concerns about Iran's restarted nuclear program. In his speech Saturday, Ahmadinejad dismissed potential UN sanctions on Iran, saying the country could meet its own needs. Reuters has more. From Iran, IRNA news agency has local coverage.

[JURIST] Former Connecticut governor John G. Rowland [archived official website; JURIST news archive] was released from federal prison Friday after serving ten months of a one year sentence [JURIST report] he received after pleading guilty to corruption charges [JURIST report] in December 2004. In his plea agreement, Rowland admitted to accepting more than $100,000 in illegal gifts from state contractors. In response to the corruption scandal at the highest level of state government, the Connecticut legislature in December last year passed tough new campaign finance legislation [JURIST report] strictly limiting state campaign contributions and set up a public campaign finance oversight system. The Danbury News Times has more.

[JURIST] American Bar Association [profession website] president Michael S. Greco said Friday that American civil liberties were under stress in a time of conflict, but that policymakers should resist the temptation to "take shortcuts with the Constitution." He made his comments as the ABA released [press release] a poll [results, PDF] showing that 52 percent of Americans believe the President could not suspend constitutional liberties in the fight against terrorism, and that an additional 25 percent believe the President must seek either congressional or court authorization before engaging in domestic surveillance [JURIST news archive].

The poll was commissioned by a special ABA task force [ABA Journal report; member profiles] set up to investigate the domestic surveillance initiative. Its preliminary report will be submitted to the ABA House of Delegates during the organization's midyear meeting in Chicago [press release] on February 13, where delegates will vote on whether or not to

• Call on the President to abide by our constitutional system of checks and balances and respect the roles of Congress and the judiciary in protecting national security consistent with the Constitution
  
• Oppose any further electronic surveillance in US for foreign intelligence purposes that does not comply with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and urge the President, if he believes FISA is inadequate, to seek amendment or new legislation
  
• Urge Congress to affirm that the Authorization for Use of Military Force adopted by Congress in September 2001 did not provide an exception to FISA, saying such an exception must be explicit
  
• Urge Congress to conduct a comprehensive, thorough investigation of the National Security Agency’s domestic surveillance program
  
• Urge Congress to assure proceedings of that investigation are open to public
  
• Urge Congress to review and make recommendations regarding intelligence oversight process