[JURIST] Uzbekistan officials announced Sunday that they will close the local office of the American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI) [advocacy websites], in existence since 1995. The Uzbek Justice Ministry [official website] claims that an inquiry has revealed that the office has acted counter to its charter by setting up and supporting local NGOs with legal assistance and concealing financial documents. ABA/CEELI offices are dedicated to advancing the rule of law by supporting the law reform process in these regions with resident specialists, legal assistance and training, and regional institutional building.

Within the past six months, Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive] has also closed the local offices of the Eurasia Foundation, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Freedom House [JURIST report], claiming that the organizations were disrupting the country's internal affairs and citing as proof last year's demonstrations in Andijan [HRW backgrounder]. Some 200 domestic nonprofit organizations have also been forced to shut down. International human rights groups have been severely critical of the Uzbek government's tough stance against dissent since the May riots, when government troops opened fire on protestors, killing as many as 500 according to rights group reports. Itar-Tass has more.

[JURIST] US Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] Sunday urged Congress to work on passing an immigration bill [JURIST news archive] this year, despite a current lack of agreement [JURIST report]. Specter told CNN's Late Edition that "there has to be an agreement between Democrats and Republicans on a list of amendments. And it would be a thorough conference, candidly, with the House, but we were able to work through the [renewal of the] Patriot Act although there were big disagreements."

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) [official website] will seek passage of an immigration bill by Memorial Day [press release] by pushing the Senate version of the legislation, S 2454 [summary], which stalled despite a compromise agreement [PDF summary]. The US House of Representatives passed [JURIST report] a strict and highly-controversial border security bill [HR 4437 summary] last year. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Jerusalem District Court [official backgrounder] issued a landmark decision Sunday saying that the Palestinian Authority (PA) [JURIST news archive] meets the legal requirements needed to be considered a state and that therefore Israel has no legal jurisdiction over it. The statement was made in a ruling in a civil case between the Association of the Elon Moreh College and Israel [JURIST news archive], the PA and other parties. The Association had purchased land in an area of the West Bank under full PA control (Area A) and was seeking the return of monies paid after the deal was voided because the village chief who sold the land was not authorized to do so.

The court said that because the PA was vested with certain powers held by sovereign entities, it was not obligated to follow Israeli law and that the Israeli courts have no power to enforce their verdicts inside Palestinian territories, especially after the 2005 Gaza disengagement [JURIST report]. In his ruling Judge Boaz Okon said "One sovereign state does not rule over another sovereign state and does not put it on trial." Haaretz has local coverage. The Jerusalem Post has more.

The issue of Palestinian statehood [Wikipedia backgrounder] has been the focus of longstanding controversy in Middle East and international politics. The Palestinian Authority, created in 1994 under the Oslo Accords [text], is generally considered an interim administrative organization allowing the Palestinians some degree of home rule, but has not been considered a state, although the US and other major players in the region support the creation of a Palestinian state under the terms of the so-called roadmap [text] to a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

[JURIST] In 2005 sixteen Nazi war criminals were convicted for atrocities during World War II in Italy, Germany and Poland, a marked increase in convictions over the previous year, according to a new report issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center [advocacy website]. The report praised countries that pursued the prosecutions but sharply criticized Austria for failing to bring similar charges. The Center has in the past called Austria a "paradise" for war criminals [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

The Center is a Jewish human rights organization named for famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, who died last year [JURIST report]. In 2002 it launched Operation: Last Chance [project website], a campaign to bring aging Nazi war criminals to trial before they die.

[JURIST] Thousands of Nepalese pro-democracy protesters [JURIST news archive] marched toward Kathmandu Sunday despite an all-day curfew that was imposed on the city and surrounding areas last week. Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators and several injuries were reported. Large demonstrations and clashes with police resulting in injuries to several hundred protestors in Kathmandu itself occurred Saturday [JURIST report]. AP has more. From Nepal, eKantipur.com has local coverage.

The protests are continuing despite a promise [JURIST report, proclamation text] made Friday by King Gyandendra [official profile, BBC profile] to restore democracy, end his direct rule, and call elections. Opposition leaders have rejected the proposal [JURIST report] because it does not include plans to create a constitution that would strip the King of most of his powers and does not set a date for prime ministerial elections. The seven-party political alliance orchestrating the democracy demonstrations has threatened to bring two million Nepalese people into the streets [eKantipur report] Tuesday for what is described as a "showdown" demonstration.

[JURIST] A US federal prosecutor said Friday that proceeding with a US trial of former Russian nuclear energy minister Yevgeny Adamov [Kommersant profile, JURIST news archive] on charges of fraud, money laundering, and tax evasion for diverting to his own use as much as $9 million in US aid earmarked for security improvements at Russian nuclear plants would be "pointless." Adamov is currently in custody in Russia [JURIST report] facing local fraud and abuse of power charges. On Friday, Adamov's lawyers moved to waive Adamov's initial court appearance in Pittsburgh and asked that the case move forward, but Assistant US Attorney Bruce Teitelbaum balked, saying that Adamov will never appear in person and that Russia has made it clear that if Adamov is to be tried it will be there, under Russian law. Teitelbaum nonetheless added he would not move to dismiss the indictment against Adamov until after Russian proceedings have ended. US District Judge Maurice B. Cohill said he will rule on the case soon. Adamov's partner, Russian-born Pittsburgh businessman Mark Kaushansky, is out on bail awaiting trial on similar charges. AP has more.

Adamov was arrested [JURIST report] in Switzerland in May 2005 on a US warrant. After a series of legal battles [JURIST report] between the US and Russia, he was extradited to Russia in December 2005. Adamov was appointed as Russia's nuclear energy minister in 1998 by President Boris Yeltsin, but successor Vladimir Putin dismissed him in 2001.