[JURIST] Four Republican Senators introduced a bill Thursday that would legalize but limit warrantless domestic surveillance [JURIST news archive] of US citizens. Sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine [official website] of Ohio with Olympia Snowe of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, the Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006 [PDF; DeWine press release] would not, in DeWine's words, give the President a "blank check" but would allow warrantless electronic surveillance for 45 days of the phone calls and e-mails of a suspected terrorist where one party is in the United States. According to DeWine:

To engage in such surveillance, the President must have probable cause to believe that the target of surveillance is a member of or affiliated with a terrorist organization. And, he must believe that the surveillance is necessary to protect the United States from a terrorist attack.

[JURIST] Israeli human rights group B'Tselem [advocacy website] and the Israel chapter of Physicians for Human Rights [advocacy website] Thursday accused the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) [official website] of violating international law by allowing the press to photograph Palestinian detainees seized in Tuesday's Jericho prison raid [JURIST report] virtually naked, clad only in their underwear. They made the allegation in a letter [press release] to Military Advocate General Brigadier General Avi Mandelblit. Images of the naked detainees were broadcast over local and state television, and published in newspapers in Israel and elsewhere.

B'Tselem and PHR claim that by parading the naked detainees in front of cameras, the IDF violated Article 27 of the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War [text], which requires militaries to provide clothing to prisoners. Israeli forces may also have breached Article 14, which says that "Prisoners of war are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their persons and their honour." The human rights groups argued that if the detainees were required to be strip-searched for security reasons, the IDF should have prohibited the media from publicizing the event. Haaretz has local coverage.

[JURIST] The UK House of Commons [official website] and House of Lords [official website] Thursday continued their protracted duel over controversial provisions in two key security bills, with the Commons voting - over Lords' objections - to reinsert a "glorification" offense into the Terrorism Bill [text] and to make registration for national ID cards [Identity Cards Bill, text] compulsory for those requesting passports. The terror bill provision carried in the Commons 296-237. Opponents of glorification stressed the vague nature of the term, and opponents of the ID cards once more assailed the government for making practically compulsory cards that it had originally presented as voluntary. Both provisions have already been voted down several times in Parliament's upper chamber, glorification [JURIST report] most recently in February and compulsory ID cards [JURIST report] earlier this month. In Commons debate, UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke warned the Lords that they should defer to the lower house, declaring "I would have expected the unelected House to concede and I'm disappointed they have not done so."

Both pieces of legislation now go back to the Lords yet again. The Commons has the power to force bills through under the terms of the Parliament Act [Guardian Q/A; UK Parliament backgrounder, PDF], but so far has not formally invoked its authority, which might force a political and constitutional crisis on somewhat-weakened government of Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Guardian has more.

[JURIST] Carla Martin, the Transportation Security Administration [official website] lawyer who improperly coached witnesses [JURIST report] against defendant Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive] in his September 11 sentencing trial, was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday. According to trial judge Leonie Brinkema, Martin egregiously violated federal rules when she sent witnesses e-mails [redacted PDF] about their upcoming testimony that disclosed parts of the government's case contrary to a sequestration order [PDF], coached them on how to react to defense cross-examination, and lied to defense lawyers to interfere with interviewing potential witnesses. Martin's ethical violations could lead to civil or criminal contempt charges, accompanied by penalties which could include fines, disbarment, or even imprisonment.

As for Moussaoui, who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to conspiracy charges [indictment] that he was involved in other al Qaeda plans to commit terrorist acts with hijacked planes, Martin's misconduct means that the prosecution will have to seek the death penalty against him without the aid of aviation-related evidence, which Brinkema has prohibited the government from presenting [JURIST report; PDF order]. One witness, however, has claimed she was not tainted by Martin's emails [JURIST report], and the prosecution has requested that Brinkema reconsider her ruling [JURIST report] arguing it is "unprecedented and overbroad." AP has more.

[JURIST] Manfred Nowak [official profile, DOC], the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture [official website] told reporters Thursday that the European Union should push the US to close its detention center at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] due to documented human rights violations [OHCHR report], and that EU countries should put some of the detainees on trial in their own courts. Last month, Nowak called on the US to charge the detainees [JURIST report], or release them without delay. Nowak also expressed concern over European nations extraditing suspected terrorists to countries where they could be tortured.

In recent months, many political actors have suggested that the US should end operations at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, including the UK Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Tony Blair, various Christian world leaders, several European ambassadors, and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [JURIST reports]. While the US has no intention of closing Guantanamo [JURIST report], citing the security risk involved if the US were to release several hundred suspected terrorists, the US has taken steps to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to prisons in Afghanistan [JURIST report] and elsewhere. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Adrian Severin, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus [official website], censured the Belarusian government headed by President Alexander Lukashenko [BBC profile] on Thursday for a series of allegedly abusive tactics ahead of Sunday's presidential elections. Severin appealed for the release [statement] of Lukashenko's political opponents and activists, including candidate aides, opposition supporters, and members of the media, who have been detained and even beaten. The UN accused Lukashenko's government of a campaign of intimidation and also reiterated a call for the end of attacks [JURIST report] on the Belarusian Helsinki Committee [official website], a leading human rights group whose members have been sentenced for tax evasion.

Meanwhile, the KGB, Belarus' state security service, cautioned protesters against Lukashenko that they face harsh penalties for participating in election demonstrations, including the death penalty [AFP report]. KGB head Stepan Sukhorenko characterized the protests as a "violent coup" attempt and alleged the involvement of a member of Georgia's parliament in destabilizing the election. Presidential candidate Alexander Milinkevich [campaign website], several of whose campaign aides have been arrested in recent days, urged the KGB to cease intimidating peaceful political activists and published a list of his aides arrested [list] on his website Thursday. The US, which, along with the European Union [official website], openly supports Lukashenko's opponents, also condemned the tactics of Lukashenko's government, but has not threatened new sanctions. The UN News Centre has more.

[JURIST] Leading Thursday's environmental law news, Nebraska's Bostwick Irrigation District [backgrounder] has voted to sell its 2006 water allotment from the Republican River to the State of Nebraska for about $2.5 million. The deal will include 10,100 acre-feet of water currently in the Harlan County reservoir, and 5000 acre-feet of water below the reservoir. The approximately 260 Bostwick landowners, the majority of whom are farmers, will each receive about $106 per acre. Nebraska wanted to purchase the water to avoid potential litigation with Kansas for violating a 1943 water-use agreement [text] with the states of Kansas and Colorado. Under that agreement, Nebraska was to receive 49 percent of the annual water supply in the Republican basin. In recent years, Nebraska has been withdrawing more than that amount. This is the first time Nebraska has purchased water rights from local districts for the purpose of allowing the water to continue to flow downriver. The Omaha World-Herald has local coverage.

In other environmental law news...

• The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) [official website] reached an agreement [press release] Wednesday with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice to reduce the amount of polluted water overflowing from Boston's sewer and stormwater systems [MWRA backgrounder] into the Charles River from 200 million gallons a year to 8 million gallons. Currently, when the combined sewer and stormwater systems overwhelm the sewage treatment centers in times of heavy rain, the additional water flows into the Charles. Under the agreement, most of the overflow would be redirected away from the river and into a sewage treatment plant. In some parts of the city, the sewer and stormwater systems would be separated. The plan is expected to cost some $20 million. The Boston Globe has more.
  
  
• The Dominican Republic is seeking $80 million from the AES Corp. [corporate website] to pay for economic damage, environmental cleanup and monitoring, and health screening of the local population, allegedly resulting from the dumping of coal ash on the country's beaches. AES contends that the ash is harmless and that all required government permits were filed and official procedures were followed. AP has more.
  
  
• The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) [official website] has proposed [press release, DEP backgrounder] limiting the levels of perchlorate in drinking water. Perchlorate [EPA backgrounder] is both naturally occurring and man-made, and might possibly lead to thyroid cancer in humans. The EPA is currently studying whether there should be a national perchlorate standard. If the proposal is approved, Massachusetts would be the first state to establish a perchlorate limit. The Berkshire Eagle has more.

[JURIST] Protests by students across France increased on Thursday in response to the First Employment Contract (CPE) [FAQ, in French], a controversial labor law which allows employers to hire workers under 26 for a conditional two-year period at the end of which they can be dismissed without cause. The law, which took effect last week and was proposed by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin [official website] to provide jobs for the nation's highly unemployed 18- to 25-year-old population, has been criticized as diminishing job security. University students also blockaded schools [JURIST report] on Tuesday when violence erupted at the Sorbonne University in Paris, and more protests are planned by French trade unions on Saturday.

Protesters say they will continue pressure until the government gives in and revokes the law. The opposition Socialist party says the law is unconstitutional and has filed a challenge in the Constitutional Council [official backgrounder, in English]. President Jacques Chirac [official website, in French; BBC profile] and Villepin have called for discussions with the protesting students and trade unions, but both have also asserted their support [Reuters report] for the CPE as requisite to improve the job market for the nation's youth. BBC News has more. Le Monde has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Ontario Superior Court of Justice [official website] held Thursday that the US can seek extradition of Abdullah Khadr [Wikipedia profile; CBC family backgrounder], who has been detained in Canada there since December 2005 on a US arrest warrant for terrorism issued by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts [official website]. Prosecutors will meet to discuss a date for Khadr’s extradition hearing on March 30 for his indictment [JURIST report] on charges [indictment, PDF; DOJ press release] of procuring weapons for al Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2003.

Khadr, 24, who can appeal extradition if granted, admitted to attending an al Qaeda training camp at age 13, but denies the allegations of membership in the terrorist group or of supplying weapons to it. Khadr is the son of alleged al Qaeda financier Ahmed Said Khadr [Wikipedia profile] and brother of Omar Khadr [JURIST news archive], the only Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. CTV has local coverage.

[JURIST] The former US Army [official website] commander of military intelligence at Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] said Wednesday that the Army lacked clear rules regarding the use of dogs during interrogations of Iraqi prisoners. Col. Thomas Pappas [Wikipedia profile], who has been given immunity, testified at the court-martial [JURIST report] of dog handler Sgt. Michael J. Smith, who has been charged with 14 counts of misconduct for using unmuzzled dogs to abuse detainees. Pappas said he regrets that he did not establish more concrete rules for the handling of dogs in interrogations, which resulted in bites to Iraqi detainees.

Pappas, however, indicated that Smith's use of an unmuzzled dog inches from a prisoner's face, depicted in photos, was not in compliance the 2003 policy which required dogs to wear muzzles and be under the control of the handling officer. Pappas said the policy states that dogs were to be used for "setting the conditions" of interrogations and approval for their use was approved on a case-by-case basis by Pappas' supervisor. Col. Pappas is the highest ranking official scheduled to testify in Smith's trial. AP has more. Trial observers from Human Rights First provide additional coverage of Pappas' testimony.

[JURIST] Three Russian police officers pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal negligence [JURIST report] in connection with the Beslan school hostage crisis [BBC report; timeline] on Thursday as their trial opened in southern Russia. Prosecutors say the police failed to raise security levels despite warnings about the possibility of attacks in the region. Chechen terrorists killed over 330 people in 2004, many of them children, after taking over the school and demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya.

If convicted, the police officers face up to 7 years in prison. Proceedings have been adjourned until March 20. BBC News has more. MosNews has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Nepal [official website] on Thursday ordered the release of two leaders in the Nepali Congress Democratic party who were arrested almost two months ago in a government crackdown [JURIST report] on opposition politicians and activists. The court ruled that the government had no right to hold the men, arrested during January night raids on their homes for planning an opposition rally in Kathmandu calling on King Gyanendra [official profile; BBC profile] to restore democracy in Nepal [government website; JURIST news archive].

Gyanendra's dismissal of the democratic government [JURIST report] occurred last February with the royal government saying it was a necessary move to combat communism and prevent corruption. The high court's order follows several similar decisions in recent weeks to release [JURIST report] other arrested protestors, which has been a political setback to the king's rule. AP has more. NepalNews.com has local coverage.

[JURIST] Officials in Ethiopia have released another 395 protesters who were detainees after violent mass demonstrations [JURIST report] following Ethiopia's May 2005 elections, bringing the total number of protesters released to over 8,200. According to the prosecutor general's office, the 395 were released due to "low-level participation in the violence, their ages and their penitence."

Eighty people died and thousands were arrested in the violence that broke out after the May elections and in separate protests [JURIST report] in November 2005. The opposition Coalition of Unity and Democracy [party website] has accused Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of fraud in the elections. The treason trial [JURIST report] of 129 protestors will resume on March 22 [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The New York Times and a former reporter have been subpoenaed [JURIST report] by lawyers for former vice-presidential Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense profile; JURIST news archive] to obtain reporter's notes and other information related to the CIA leak case [JURIST news archive]. The requested notes belong to former NYT reporter Judith Miller [JURIST news archive], who served 85 days in jail [JURIST report] for failing to reveal one of her sources.

Libby has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to obstruction of justice and perjury charges [PDF indictment; JURIST report] in connection with the investigation into the leak of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to the media. Miller's source was later revealed to be Libby, though Libby has not been charged with actually revealing Plame's identity. According to court documents released last month, Libby was authorized by his superiors [JURIST report] to share classified information with reporters in order to combat accusations that the US government had manipulated intelligence leading to the war in Iraq. Thursday's New York Times has more.

[JURIST] High-level military attorneys have told Congress that some interrogation methods used at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] are not consistent with guidelines in the Army Field Manual [interrogation manual; additional manuals]. In a written response to questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee [official website], lawyers from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps wrote that certain tactics used to interrogate terrorism suspect Mohamed al-Qahtani [TIME report], the so-called "20th hijacker", could be considered violations of policy because they were humiliating or degrading. Interrogators forced al-Qahtani to wear women's undergarments, called him a homosexual and implied that others knew he was a homosexual, forced him to perform dog tricks, and forced him to stand naked in the presence of female soldiers. The lawyers said these methods do not follow policy.

Last July, a Pentagon report [PDF text; JURIST report] by two generals concluded that although the tactics as a whole may be degrading, each was individually authorized by the manual:

Despite the fact that the AR 15-6 concluded that every technique employed against the subject of the first Special Interrogation Plan was legally permissible under the existing guidance, the AR 15-6 finds that the creative, aggressive, and persistent interrogation of the subject of the first Special Interrogation Plan resulted in the cumulative effect being degrading and abusive treatment.

[JURIST] Judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] on Thursday ordered that confidential materials in the Slobodan Milosevic case [ICTY case backgrounder] be made available to an ICTY inquiry team and Dutch authorities investigating the circumstances of the former Yugoslav president's death last weekend. Under the order [text], case materials that had been kept confidential because of personal information about Milosevic will be provided to aid the investigators but the information will remain otherwise confidential.

The decision comes after ICTY President Judge Fausto Pocar directed [order, PDF; JURIST report] the court's Trial Chamber to consider varying or lifting protective measures applied to certain materials in the Milosevic case. Read the ICTY press release.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Milosevic Trial | Op-ed: The Milosevic Trial Legacy: If Not Outcome, Hope

[JURIST] The US House [official website] on Wednesday voted to keep language in an emergency appropriations bill [HR 4939 summary] that would block the transfer of operations at six US ports to United Arab Emirates-owned Dubai Ports World [corporate website], despite the company's decision to transfer all US port operations [JURIST report] to an American company. DP World confirmed Wednesday that it will sell all its US port operations to a US buyer within four to six months and until the sale is complete, its US operations will operate independently.

The House voted 377-38 [roll call] against an amendment that would have removed Section 3011 [PDF text], approved [JURIST report] by the House Appropriations Committee [official website] last week, from the emergency appropriations bill. Despite the vote, several lawmakers have expressed satisfaction with DP World's decision to give up control of the US ports, though Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) [official website], chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, warned that Congress will continue to monitor the situation. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Thursday's international brief, a Ugandan high court judge has refused to grant a defense motion that would have dismissed charges of treason and concealment of treason [JURIST report] against Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye [BBC profile]. Besigye's lawyers had argued that the prosecution's indictment of Besigye was "incurably defective" and the charges should be dismissed. The high court judge held that while the indictment was flawed, it contained "sufficient information" to justify a trial on both charges. The judge postponed the case until April 4, to allow Besigye's lawyers time to conduct their legal challenge [JURIST report] of the results of February's national elections. The Ugandan Electoral Commission [official website], meanwhile, on Thursday released final results [EC tally; Xinhua report] from last month's elections. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni [BBC profile] won 59 percent of the vote, with Besigye following with 37 percent. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Uganda [JURIST news archive]. The Daily Monitor has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• The Sudanese government [official website] has closed offices of one of the only local human rights groups working in the war-torn Darfur region [JURIST news archive]. Government coordinator for humanitarian agencies al-Tijani Tajeddin told reporters that the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO) [advocacy website] had failed to submit its mandate to the government as required by the national NGO law and that their offices would remain closed until they did so. SUDO chief Mudawi Ibrahim disputed the claim, saying that SUDO had already submitted its mandate, but told reporters that they would resubmit and hope for an order allowing re-opening on Thursday. SUDO has regularly been targeted by government officials for investigations and disruptions, a fact which Ibrahim alleges stems from the government's dislike of their involvement in the Darfur region. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.
  
  
• The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website], the leading opposition group in Zimbabwe, has harshly criticized the arrest of Zimbabwean MP Timothy Mubhawu for allegedly insulting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile] as another demonstration of Mugabe's attempt to silence any opposition. Mubhawu allegedly asked Zimbabwean soldiers he had given a ride why "do you let Mugabe let you suffer?" One of the soldiers reported the statement and Mubhawu was arrested Tuesday night for violating the country's strict laws against denigrating the head of state. Mubhawu is currently being detained pending a hearing and will be represented by MDC lawyers. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. IRIN News has more.
  
  
• The Nepal government attorney (equivalent to the solicitor-general) has ordered Kathmandu police to open an investigation into Surya Nath Upadhyay [official profile], the chief commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) [official website] for alleged abuse of his office in the early 1990s, when he was a low-level government secretary. Upadhyay has been indicated in an ongoing scandal involving the forgery of documents needed to apply for citizenship in Nepal. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. eKantipur has local coverage.