[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] Wednesday announced [DOJ press release] the indictment [text, PDF] of 50 leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) [official website, in Spanish; Wikipedia backgrounder], the country’s largest guerilla group, on narcotics and other charges. Noting that FARC produces half of the cocaine in the world and 60 percent of the US supply, the indictment accuses FARC of “threatening and killing local farmers, ordering members to kidnap and murder Colombian and US persons, and shooting down airplanes they believed were used for fumigation” of coca plants.

US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] cited [speech text] the “unprecedented cooperation” between the Colombian and US governments, but he also stressed the presumption of innocence of the suspects. The US has spent over $3 billion since 2000 on measures to contain the drug trade from Colombia. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe [BBC profile], a staunch supporter of the US, has also increased efforts to reduce the exportation of cocaine and stymie FARC, which uses drug profits to finance its mission to overthrow the Colombian government. The US seeks extradition for three of the named suspects who have been apprehended in Colombia, while 47 remain at large. AP has more.

[JURIST] Three Samsung [corporate website] executives agreed to plead guilty [US DOJ press release] Wednesday for conspiring to drive up the prices in the market for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. The three South Koreans will serve jail sentences between seven and eight months and pay fines of $250,000. The pleas await approval from a federal judge in San Francisco. The agreements follow the announcement [DOJ press release] that Samsung, the world’s largest maker of computer memory chips, pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to criminal antitrust charges [indictment text] and was ordered pay a $300 million fine, the second largest fine in a criminal antitrust case, for participating in the scheme.

The pleas stem from the DOJ's ongoing investigation into price-fixing in the DRAM industry. Prosecutors received complaints from PC makers, such as Dell and Apple, when the price of memory chips began to climb in 2001, even though the tech industry was suffering its worst downturn in history. Earlier this month, four Hynix Semiconductor [corporate website] executives agreed to plead guilty [CNet report], following the company’s guilty plea on conspiracy charges [JURIST report] in April 2005 for the role it played in the price-fixing scheme. In December 2004, four Infineon executives pleaded guilty to similar charges of price-fixing [JURIST report]. CNet has more.

[JURIST] Prosecutors argued in front of the Texas Third Court of Appeals [official website] Wednesday for reinstatement of criminal conspiracy charges dropped [JURIST report] against indicted US Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX) [official website; JURIST news archive]. In December 2005, Senior District Judge Pat Priest ruled that the former majority leader could not be tried for conspiracy to violate the state election code for his actions in 2002 because the law was not enacted by the legislature until 2003. The prosecution maintains that the 2003 law was passed only to clarify previously existing law. The three-judge panel is not expected to rule on the issue for a month.

DeLay still faces money laundering charges [text] for allegedly funneling corporate donations into the campaign funds of state legislature candidates, which is a felony under the Texas Penal Code [text]. DeLay, who is running for re-election in November 2006, insists that the charges are politically motivated and that the appeal is a frivolous stall tactic; but in January, Priest refused [JURIST report] to grant his request for an expedited trial. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments Wednesday on whether a federal immigration law authorizing deportation can be applied to illegal immigrants who entered the country before its enactment. The case, Fernandez-Vargas v. Gonzales [Duke Law case backgrounder], 04-1376, involves Mexican immigrant Humberto Fernandez-Vargas, who entered the US in the 1970s and after several deportations lived in the US continuously since 1982. US immigration officials arrested Fernandez-Vargas on a 1981 deportation warrant while he was applying for citizenship in 2003. The officials reissued the warrant pursuant to a section [text] of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) enacted in 1997, which authorized prior warrants to be reinstated. Fernandez-Vargas argues that the law does not apply to illegal immigrants who entered the US before the law’s enactment; otherwise it would create a retroactive punishment. The circuit courts are divided on the issue with the Tenth and other circuits holding that the law applies to all immigrants regardless of their entry into the country. The ABA has merit briefs. AP has more.

The Court also heard arguments in Woodford v. Ngo [Duke Law case backgrounder], 05-416, in which a California inmate, Viet Mike Ngo, tried to file a complaint alleging a First Amendment violation with a federal district court after the penal system originally rejected his grievance due to lateness. The question presented is whether the Prison Litigation Reform Act [text; ACLU backgrounder], which requires prisoners to exhaust all administrative remedies before filing a complaint in court, bars an inmate who filed an untimely administrative appeal from suing in federal court. The ABA has merit briefs. AP has more.

[JURIST] A federal appeals court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case that will determine the constitutional scope of the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA) [text] as it applies to over 300 Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report] detainees who have sought habeas corpus review to challenge their detentions. The DTA, signed by President Bush at the end of December, includes terms based on an amendment [JURIST report] introduced by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) barring detainees from filing habeas petitions to challenge the legality of their detention but does allow them to appeal the rulings of military tribunals.

Lawyers for the Bush administration argued to a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit [official homepage] that the DTA specifically "eliminates all sources of jurisdiction, including habeas corpus, by which the detainees might challenge any aspect of their detention." At the hearing, Judge David B. Sentelle seem skeptical of the argument, pointing out the Supreme Court ruled in Rasul v. Bush [text] that under the US constitution district courts have jurisdiction to consider challenges from Guantanamo detainees. In response, government lawyer Gregory G. Katsas asserted that the Rasul holding is now limited by the DTA in that detainees are allowed to file court challenges but the courts - under the DTA - are prevented from ruling on those motions. But Sentelle was dismissive and asked Katsas if he was seriously suggesting that "all the Supreme Court did in Rasul was give (detainees) a right to file a piece of paper that cannot possibly grant release." Attorneys for the detainees argued that the DTA was unconstitutional on its face and alternatively, that it does not automatically require dismissal of standing detainee challenges. Read the Bush Administration's court brief. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that a military jury has sentenced US Army Sgt. Michael J. Smith to six months in prison for abusing detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] by using his unmuzzled dogs to intimidate inmates.

Smith was convicted [JURIST report] Tuesday on two counts of maltreatment of detainees, conspiring to make a contest of making detainees soil themselves, dereliction of duty, assault, and an indecent act in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice [text] and faced a maximum sentence of 8 1/2 years. Though only convicted on six counts, Smith was initially charged with 14 counts of misconduct [JURIST report] which carried a possible sentence of 29 1/2 years. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Wednesday that the US Defense Department is considering a formal written rule that would ban statements made during torture from any proceeding before US military commissions [JURIST news archive]. The Wall St. Journal reported early Wednesday that the rule had already been approved and would be issued later this week, but Bryan Whitman said the information provided to the paper had been incorrect: no final approval had yet been made and the rule was still under consideration. A rule would take the place of an informal understanding by military prosecutors that such evidence would not be permitted. Pentagon policy already prohibits torture and the use of statements from it, but Whitman said a rule could help demonstrate that the UN Convention Against Torture [text] was being applied to Guantanamo detainees. The Pentagon and rights activists have disagreed as to what constitutes "torture" and, therefore, what might constitute evidence derived from that.

Next week the US Supreme Court hears Hamdan v. Rumsfeld [Duke Law backgrounder; JURIST report], which challenges the constitutionality of the Guantanamo military commissions. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Law Lords [official website], the judicial panel of the UK House of Lords that is Britain's highest court, ruled [text] 5-0 Wednesday in favor of a high school's decision to ban a student from wearing a Muslim jilbab [Wikipedia backgrounder], a long garment that covers the entire body other than the face and hands. Student Shabina Begum claimed that Luton's Denbigh High School [school website] had infringed her rights sued, winning in an appeals court ruling [JURIST report] last year.

Because the school consists of mostly Muslim students, the school approved a dress code that is acceptable within the Muslim faith, allowing students to wear certain types of Muslim clothing, including headscarves. The school maintained, however, that the type of long, flowing garment that Begum chose to wear is dangerous, and might cause divisions among other students who chose not to wear traditional clothing. The Law Lords concluded that the school did not violate the UK Human Rights Act [text], since Begum had the option to wear alternative clothing choices that did not offend the Muslim faith or the school dress code. Religious dress [JURIST news archive] for Muslims, Sikhs and other minority groups has become the subject of much legislative and judicial attention in Europe in the past couple of years. AP has more.

[JURIST] Human rights activists around the world were subject to murder, assaults, imprisonment and other forms of repression in 2005 according to a joint report [PDF] issued Wednesday by the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) [advocacy website] and the Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) [advocacy website]. The study revealed more than 1,100 reported cases of repression against activists last year, in over 90 countries, including Colombia, China, Iran, Nepal and Russia. In all 1,172 cases of repression against human rights activists were catalogued, involving 117 murders or attempted assassinations, 92 cases of ill-treatment or torture, 56 physical attacks and 315 arbitrary detentions.

An introduction to the 289-page report honors all defenders: "there are men and women who, regardless of the danger they face, persist in denouncing the violations they have witnessed, convinced that law – international human rights law – will triumph over violence and arbitrariness." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] on Wednesday reduced the life sentence [press release] of former Bosnian Serb mayor Milomir Stakic [ICTY case backgrounder; HRW backgrounder] to 40 years in prison. Stakic was a top official in the Prijedor Municipality [Wikipedia backgrounder] in northwest Bosnia during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War [Wikipedia backgrounder] and was a prominent member of the Serbian Democratic Party, operating under then President Radovan Karadzic [BBC profile], who is now one of the ICTY's most sought after men, facing charges of genocide.

Stakic was convicted [judgment] in 2003 of extermination, murder, and persecution for his role in expelling Muslims and Serbs from the Prijedor area. Judges in the case said that he was also partially responsible for setting up detention camps where non-Serbs were tortured and killed. As a result of his conviction, Stakic received the first life imprisonment sentence ever handed down by the ICTY. Both Stakic and the prosecution appealed the conviction, with Stakic also appealing the sentence. In addition to reducing Stakic's sentence, the appeals chamber upheld Stakic's conviction [judgment, PDF; ICTY summary] and also upheld the trial chamber's acquittal of genocide charges, noting that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence on that charge. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's environmental law news, Canadian Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice [official website] announced [press release] a new plan to improve drinking water in "First Nation communities," i.e., Indian reservations. The plan includes mandatory training [backgrounder] for treatment plant operators and standards [PDF text] for the design, construction, operation, maintenance and monitoring of First Nation community water systems. The Canadian Press has more.

In other environmental law news...

• The Yankee Atomic Electric Co. [corporate website] has agreed [EPA press release] to pay $48,750 to settle EPA claims that it violated the Toxic Substances Control Act [EPA backgrounder] by improperly disposing of steel coated with PCB-contaminated paint during the cleanup of the decommissioned Yankee nuclear power plant [corporate website].
  
  
• Representatives from the India Ministry of Environment [official website] and the Pakistan Ministry of Environment [official website] met Tuesday with the purpose of promoting and establishing cooperation on environmental matters between the two nations. The talks were part of the India-Pakistan Joint Commission, which met for the first time in 17 years. The outcome of the talks will be reviewed by the foreign secretaries of the two countries in New Delhi India on July 20. PTI has more.
  
  
• The Oklahoma Senate [official website] has allowed a bill [RTF text] to expire on the legislative calendar that would have stopped animal wastes from being considered as hazardous material under state law. Supporters of the bill, including the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, argued that animal waste, including feces and carcasses, should not be legally considered as hazardous waste. Critics of the bill maintain that some of the materials found in the waste is toxic and should be treated as hazardous, and that the bill was designed to protect poultry companies from improper disposal charges. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette has more.

[JURIST] British Judge Advocate John Bayliss ruled Wednesday that Royal Air Force [official website] Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the first British officer to face criminal charges after challenging the conflict's legality will face a court-martial on five charges of failing to comply with a lawful order. Kendall-Smith [JURIST news archive], a medical officer who had served twice in southern Iraq with British forces, refused deployment to Iraq a third time in June of last year. Kendall-Smith had defended his actions [JURIST report] by saying that because Iraq had not attacked Britain or one of its allies, there was no lawful reason to enter Iraq and he was entitled to disobey "unlawful orders."

Bayliss rejected that argument, saying that two UN Security Council resolutions provided what he called "clear authority by the United Nations Security Council for the presence of British forces" in Iraq, adding that if Kendall-Smith "believed that to go to Basra would make him complicit in the crime of aggression, his understanding of the law was wrong." Kendall-Smith's court-martial is scheduled for April 6. AP has more. The Times of London has local coverage.

[JURIST] The British government said Wednesday it would take up the case of one British resident currently held by the US at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], but stood by its decision not to intervene on behalf of five others. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) [official website] announced it would help Iraqi-born Bisher al-Rawi the same day as al-Rawi and fellow detainees Jamil el-Banna and Omar Deghayes returned to the High Court to seek a ruling that would compel the British government to push the United States for their release. The FCO indicated al-Rawi's circumstances were different but did not explain what his different circumstances were. Last week, Mr. Justice Collins ruled [JURIST report] that he would allow the legal action on behalf the UK residents detained at Guantanamo Bay, reasoning in part that there were substantial inconsistencies between the US definition of torture and that held by Britain and "most civilized countries." The men are all long-term British residents but are not UK citizens.

In response to growing concern [JURIST report] over the status of the British residents being held at Guantanamo Bay, Prime Minister Tony Blair suggested [AFP report] last week that it might be best for the US to close the detention facility. The last UK nationals interned at Guantanamo were transferred to the UK [JURIST report] by US authorities in January 2005 and later released. Reuters has more on Wednesday's hearing.

[JURIST] Consumer protection organization Public Citizen [advocacy website] Tuesday filed suit [official press release; PDF complaint] in federal court in Washington, DC, challenging the constitutionality of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 [PDF text], which cuts approximately $39 billion in federal programs. In its suit, Public Citizen alleges that the version of the bill signed by the President was passed by the US Senate, but not by the House. The inconsistency was the result of an error made by the Senate clerk, who altered text in the House version of the legislation regarding the duration of Medicare payments for certain types of medical equipment, putting down 36 months instead of 13, the figure that House and Senate negotiators had agreed. The House narrowly approved the bill with the 36-month provision, but the President's signed version contained the Senate number.

Public Citizen argues that the erroneous procedure violates the Bicameral Clause of the US Constitution. AP has more.

[JURIST] The government of Afghanistan said Wednesday that a court would rule on whether Abdul Rahman, accused of converting to Christianity, will face the death penalty for his conversion. Under Islamic law, apostasy is a capital offense. The case against him [JURIST report] has shocked many members of the international community, including the US [VOA report], and has prompted former Italian President Francesco Cossiga to call for the withdrawal of Italian troops from the country if the trial continues. The Afghan embassy in Washington, DC has received hundreds of messages about the case as well.

The outcry has caused problems for Afghanistan leader Hamid Karzai [BBC profile], who depends on the support of international troops [NATO ISAF website] to maintain stability in the country. Reuters has more. To complicate matters even further, prosecutor Sarinwal Zamari said [AP report] Wednesday that some question has been raised as to Rahman's mental fitness to stand trial.

[JURIST] Chilean Judge Victor Montiglio on Tuesday announced indictments and ordered the arrests of 13 retired Chilean military officers accused of directly participating in the Caravan of Death [BBC backgrounder], one of the most notorious events during the reign of former dictator Augusto Pinochet [BBC profile; JURIST news archive]. The Caravan of Death occurred in the month following Pinochet's Semptember 1973 coup. In that month, a group of military officers toured various provinces throughout Chile, killing those who opposed Pinochet's rule. In the end, military officers killed as many as 75 dissidents, many of whom had turned themselves in to authorities. The officers indicted on Tuesday are accused of serving in military regiments visited by the group of officers and of participating in executions and burials of dissidents.

In January, an appeals court in Chile also cleared the way [JURIST report] for prosecutors to charge Pinochet for his role in the Caravan of Death. Pinochet is also accused of corruption and tax evasion [JURIST reports], and in another January ruling an appeals court ruled that he was competent to stand trial for his role in the 1975 Operation Columbo [JURIST report] massacre. AP has more. From Santiago, Jorge Escalante of La Nacion has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Wednesday held that a police search of a couple's home, where one resident gave permission for the search but the other resident "unequivocally refused to give consent", is unconstitutional as to the resident who refused consent. The Court considered an appeal [JURIST report] in Georgia v. Randolph [Duke Law case backgrounder], 04-1067, a case which involved an estranged Georgia couple where the wife had returned to the home to collect her belongings. The wife granted permission for the police search over her husband's objections, which led police to evidence in the house that her husband used cocaine. In a 5-3 decision, the Court upheld a Georgia Supreme Court decision [PDF text], ruling that "a physically present cooccupant's stated refusal to permit entry renders warrantless entry and search unreasonable and invalid as to him."

The Court stopped short of providing a full answer to the question of whether police can search a home when one resident consents and the other resident is present and does not consent, noting that in the case's particular circumstances it was clear that Randolph denied the police entry into his home. In his first dissent since being appointed to the high court, Chief Justice John Roberts criticized the result as "a complete lack of practical guidance for the police in the field, let alone for the lower courts." Read the Court's opinion [PDF] per Justice Souter, with a concurrence [PDF text] from Justice Stevens, a second concurrence [PDF text] from Justice Breyer, a dissent [PDF text] from Chief Justice Roberts, who was joined by Justice Scalia, a separate dissent [PDF text] from Scalia, and a dissent [PDF text] from Justice Thomas. AP has more.

[JURIST] As preparations continue [JURIST report] to establish a tribunal to prosecute those accused of killing former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Tuesday said that a mixed tribunal, with both international and Lebanese participation, is necessary to ensure that justice is done in the case. He noted particularly that Hariri's murder has led to ongoing political and economic turmoil in Lebanon. Annan's recommendation is part of a larger report [PDF text] on the ongoing investigation of the Hariri murder, which was published in response to Security Council Resolution 1644 [PDF text] requesting that the Secretary-General help the Lebanese government identify what sort of international support will be required to ensure that those responsible for Hariri's murder are brought to justice.

A UN investigation team [UN backgrounder] has worked for nearly 10 months to identify those responsible for the killings. The current chief investigator, Serge Brammertz, is optimistic that Syria's recent decision to cooperate in the probe will help the investigation run more smoothly. AP has more. The UN News Centre provides additional coverage.

[JURIST] The New Hampshire House of Representatives [official website] on Tuesday voted down a bill [HB 1354 text] that would have broadened the right to use deadly force in self defense when in public by a margin of 194-138. The State Senate approved a similar proposal, to remove the requirement that a person retreat and refrain from using deadly force when safe to do so, two weeks ago. The Brady Campaign [advocacy website] hailed the House vote and urged state lawmakers to defeat the Senate version [press release] of the "shoot first" legislation. AP has more.

Meanwhile, the Georgia House of Representatives Judiciary Non-Civil Committee [official website] on Tuesday approved similar legislation, the so-called "stand your ground" bill [SB 396 text], which if enacted would authorize citizens to use deadly force to defend themselves in public areas. Supporters of the bill, including State Senator Greg Goggans, sponsor of the legislation, argue that all "law-abiding citizens" should be able to determine for themselves whether to "stand their ground or flee." Opponents to the legislation believe, however, that some would see the new law as giving license to use deadly force when they are not at risk of serious bodily injury or death. The bill, passed by the state Senate [JURIST report] earlier this month, is the latest version of similar legislation that have been pushed in legislatures throughout the country. Last April, the Florida legislature passed a similar measure [JURIST report, bill text] which was signed by Governor Jeb Bush. As was the case with Florida's legislation, the National Rifle Association (NRA) [advocacy website] strongly supports Georgia's bill [NRA action alert]. The full Georgia House may begin debating the bill by the end of the week. AP has more.

[JURIST] Russian diplomat Konstantin Dolgov has requested a UN briefing on conditions in UN detention facilities following the recent deaths of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] and Croatian Serb Milan Babic [JURIST report]. Dolgov also asked Tuesday for information from UN officials on the state of an investigation into both deaths. Earlier this week, the court-appointed advocates for the late Milosevic asked the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] to release secret medical files that may provide further information on Milosevic's death. Judge Fausto Pocar, head of the ICTY, recently ordered an audit [JURIST report] of the facility that housed Milosevic due to "media speculation with regard to the running of the UN Detention Unit," though he noted that previous independent inspections had shown that "conditions in the Detention Unit are of the very highest standard." The UN Security Council [official website] meets on the issue again on Thursday and it seems likely the council will ask for the requested briefing from the UN secretariat in New York. Reuters has more.

Meanwhile, an aide to ICTY chief prosecutor Carla del Ponte [official profile] said Wednesday that del Ponte will travel to Serbia next week to seek reassurance from the Serbian government that Milosevic's death will not interfere with Belgrade's cooperation with the ICTY. Del Ponte has repeatedly called for cooperation from Serbia [JURIST report] in locating top war crimes fugitives and late last month, the European Union threatened to suspend membership negotiations [JURIST report] with Serbia if there was not full cooperation in apprehending war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; BBC profile]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] In an effort to bring closure to the contentious issue of the fate of former Liberian President Charles Taylor [PBS profile], Liberia's new president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf [profile] on Tuesday called on African leaders to decide whether to place Taylor in the hands of a UN tribunal to face war crimes charges. On Friday, Liberia formally asked the Nigerian government to transfer Taylor [JURIST report] from Nigeria where he has been living in exile [JURIST report] so that he can face war crimes charges at the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website]. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo [official profile] is consulting with leaders from the African Union [official website] and the Economic Community of West African States [official website] before deciding precisely how to respond to Liberia's request. Johnson-Sirleaf has cited issues such as Liberia's dismantled infrastructure and total dependence on UN peacekeepers for security that will move towards resolution when the fate of Taylor no longer looms over the country. Reuters has more.

Residents of Sierra Leone, meanwhile, have expressed concern over Taylor's possible transfer to the tribunal where he faces charges [indictment] of crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva Conventions [ICRC materials] and other international humanitarian laws for supporting the insurgency of rebels in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leoneans are worried that Taylor's presence in the country could stir up fresh violence and undermine peace in the country. Reuters has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Charles Taylor | Op-ed: Handing Over Charles Taylor: It's Time [David Crane, former SCSL chief prosecutor]

[JURIST] For the fourth day in a row, hundreds of protestors gathered [JURIST report] at a central square in Minsk on Wednesday to oppose what they claimed were the rigged results of the Belarus [JURIST news archive] presidential election, defying threats of a government crackdown and the possibility of arrest [JURIST report]. Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko [official website; BBC profile], who has ruled for 12 years, won Sunday's elections with an official vote tally of 82.6 percent though independent monitors declared the election severely flawed [JURIST report] earlier this week. Opposition leader Alexander Milinkevich [Wikipedia profile; campaign website] who received 6 percent of the vote has rallied supporters to protest for a re-run of a poll.

In contrast to many Western nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin [official profile] has offered support for Lukashenko in a telegram [transcript], saying that "The results of the election that has just taken place are evidence of the voters' confidence in the course you have chosen to ensure rising prosperity for the Belarusian people." The US has said it does not accept the results of the elections [transcript]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST Europe] The largest UK trial of terrorism suspects since al Qaeda's September 11 attacks on the United States got under way in London's Old Bailey Tuesday with seven British men facing charges of planning bombings in Britain in retaliation for British support of US policy. Prosecutor David Waters [chambers profile] said the men were fully prepared and had acquired all the necessary items to go through with their plan, including 600kg of ammonium nitrate fertilizer which was confiscated in 2004 by police at a west London storage depot. The defendants had decided on "pubs, nightclubs, or trains" as potential targets. The defendants, all of Pakistani descent are: Omar Khyam, 24: Anthony Garcia, 23 (also known as Rahman Adam); Salahuddin Amin, 31; Nabeel Hussain, 20; Jawad Akbar, 22; and the Mahmood Brothers, Waheed and Shujah, 34 and 19 respectively. All seven face conspiracy charges of working with Canadian Mohammed Momin Khawaja [CBC backgrounder] between January 2003 and March 2004 to use explosive substances to cause life-endangering explosions. Khawaja is currently awaiting trial in Canada.

Waters said that most of the plan was constructed in Pakistan and Canada and the jury would be hearing evidence from Mohammed Babar, an American citizen also of Pakistani descent who worked with the defendants during their campaign and pleaded guilty to terrorism charges [CNN report] in New York in 2004. The Mahmood brothers and Khyam are charged with the possession of aluminum powder between October 2003 and March 2004 for use in terrorist acts. Khyam, Hussain, and Garcia are charged under the UK Terrorism Act 2000 [text] with possessing the fertilizer, an article for terrorism, between November 2003 and March 2004. The defendants are denying all charges. The trial is expected to last for several months. The Guardian has local coverage.

Angela Onikepe is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.

[JURIST Europe] UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] told a UK Commons committee Tuesday that he has not given up on the option of detaining suspected terrorists for up to 90 days without charge, and may introduce additional legislation to that effect either next year or in 2008. Suspects can be detained without charge for 14 days under existing UK law; a provision in an earlier version of the government's Terrorism Bill [text; JURIST news archive] allowed a 90-day detention period, but that was rejected by MPs and reduced to 28 days [JURIST report]. Once made into law, the 28-day period will become the longest detention period without charge authorized in western Europe. Stressing that he was only asserting his own personal viewpoint, Clarke also told members of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee [official website] he thought the traditional adversarial system was inadequate to secure justice, saying he would prefer the French model where magistrates directed police operations.

Conservative shadow Home Secretary, David Davis [official profile], agreed with Clarke that putting the longer detention period back on the table now would only create more legislative division. The Independent has more.

Angela Onikepe is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.