[JURIST] A federal judge Thursday rejected [order, PDF] a US Department of Justice (DOJ) motion to dismiss [redacted brief in support of motion, PDF; JURIST report] on state secrets grounds a class action lawsuit [EFF backgrounder; JURIST report] brought against AT&T alleging that the telecommunications giant violated citizens' rights to privacy as well as several federal statutes when it allowed the National Security Agency to use its infrastructure to wiretap US citizens as part of the President's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive]. Although not an immediate party to the litigation, the Justice Department filed a Statement of Interest [PDF] in April. US District Judge Vaughn Walker [official profile] of the Northern District of California reasoned that the broad media coverage had neutralized any danger of disclosing state secrets. He noted that the "compromise between liberty and security remains a difficult one" and that "dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security." Walker also dismissed an AT&T motion to dismiss the suit.

This is the first time a judge has ruled on the government's invocation of the state secrets privilege in a warrantless phone-tapping case. Earlier this year, the DOJ successfully persuaded [JURIST report] a federal judge in the el-Masri CIA rendition [JURIST news archive] case to dismiss an ACLU suit on state secrets grounds [JURIST report]. The federal government invoked the privilege [News Media & the Law commentary], established by the US Supreme Court in United States v. Reynolds [opinion text], in only four cases between 1953 and 1976. The Bush administration invoked the privilege 23 times in the four years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as at least five times in the past year. AP has more. The San Francisco Chronicle has local coverage.

[JURIST] US authorities announced Thursday that compensation payments totaling $112,000 had been approved for victims of a May accident involving an American cargo truck in Kabul, Afghanistan [JURIST news archive], that set off an anti-American riot [BBC report] in which at least seven people died. According to conflicting reports, either US soldiers or Afghan police fired into a crowd to quell the unrest [JURIST report].

The parliament of Afghanistan passed a nonbinding resolution [JURIST report] in June calling for the prosecution of the US soldiers responsible for the crash, which killed at least one civilian. US officials have claimed the crash was a result of an unintentional brake failure. According to a military statement [CFC Afghanistan release], the US received 26 claims for compensatory damages for the traffic accident under the US Foreign Claims Act [text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Cambodian genocide suspect Ek Choeun, also known as Ta Mok [Trial Watch profile], died Thursday after having slipped into a coma [JURIST report] in Phnom Penh earlier this week. He was 80. The former zone secretary and central committee member of the Khmer Rouge [JURIST news archive], who had been suffering from high blood pressure, tuberculosis, respiratory and other problems, was initially hospitalized late last month [JURIST report]. Ta Mok's death means that he will avoid prosecution before the Khmer Rouge genocide tribunal [task force website, in Khmer; timeline] scheduled to begin holding trials next year.

Ta Mok, captured in 1999, and Khang Khek Leu, the former S-21 [Wikipedia backgrounder] torture center chief better known as "Comrade Duch," were the only former Khmer Rouge leaders from the 1975-79 communist regime already in prison awaiting trial. Just last week, official investigations began [JURIST report] into criminal acts allegedly committed by surviving leaders of the communist Khmer Rouge regime, which ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1978 and was responsible for the deaths of at least 1.5 million Cambodians by execution, forced hardships or starvation in the so-called "Killing Fields." Prosecutors have warned, however, that it could take several months to return indictments [JURIST report]. Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Khieu Samphan, who all remain free, are also likely to face prosecution if they survive. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate voted Thursday to extend the Voting Rights Act (VRA) [text; DOJ backgrounder] Thursday by 25 years rather than allowing portions of it to expire. The bill [HR 9 summary; text, PDF] reauthorizing the VRA, which over the past four decades has helped to end election schemes that kept blacks from the polls, was approved by a vote of 98-0. Speaking [White House transcript] Thursday at the NAACP's annual convention, President Bush said he looked forward to signing the legislation and that he "consider[ed] it a tragedy that the [Republican] party of Abraham Lincoln let go of its historical ties with the African-American community." He added that, "For too long, my party wrote off the African-American vote, and many African-Americans wrote off the Republican Party."

The House of Representatives passed the renewal bill [JURIST report] last week by a vote of 390-33 after House GOP leaders had to withdraw it from the floor agenda in June because of opposition from a number of conservative Southern lawmakers. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former US Rep. Bob Barr on Thursday filed a complaint [press release] on behalf of Georgia firearms dealer Adventure Outdoors [corporate website] in a Georgia state court alleging that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg [official website] violated state and federal laws while preparing to file a federal lawsuit against fifteen out-of-state gun dealers [JURIST report]. The complaint [PDF text] alleges that Bloomberg committed conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) [text] by falsifying an ATF form [sample form] to fraudulently obtain a firearm from Adventure Outdoors, in violation of 18 USC 1001 [text] and 18 USC 922 [text], and that Bloomberg committed libel and slander by releasing misleading statements to national media outlets regarding the federal lawsuit. The lawsuit demands restitution totaling $400 million.

A spokesperson for Bloomberg called the suit a publicity stunt aimed at pulling attention away from Bloomberg's lawsuit, which alleges in part that fifteen gun retailers, including Adventure Outdoors, engaged in unlawful selling practices. On Thursday, Bloomberg announced [statement] the passage of four New York City ordinances aimed at reducing gun crime in the city. AP has more.

[JURIST] A lawyer for Tariq Aziz [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], former deputy prime minister and foreign minister for ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, has filed a habeas corpus petition [DOC text] with the US Supreme Court [official website], seeking his release from the custody of coalition forces in Iraq. Aziz lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano [law firm website; Aziz case file] presented two questions to the Court Wednesday: (1) "Is Petitioner's incommunicado detention, whereby he is prohibited access to family or to legal counsel, in accordance with law?" and (2) "Is the turning over of Petitioner Tariq Aziz to an authority that may reasonably be expected to violate his rights to a fair trial, due process of law, and his right to life in accordance with the law?" In the petition, Di Stefano argues that the US has violated the due process rights of Aziz under the Fourth and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as under military and international human rights law, and that attempts to deny Aziz the right to challenge his detention violate both Article 1 of the US Constitution, as well as international law. LectLaw has background on habeas corpus petitions.

Rule 20 Section 1 [text] of the US Supreme Court Rules [text] reminds applicants that

Issuance by the Court of an extraordinary writ authorized by 28 U. S. C. §1651(a) is not a matter of right, but of discretion sparingly exercised. To justify the granting of any such writ, the petition must show that the writ will be in aid of the Court's appellate jurisdiction, that exceptional circumstances warrant the exercise of the Court's discretionary powers, and that adequate relief cannot be obtained in any other form or from any other court.

[JURIST] Responding to recent controversy over UK sentencing guidelines [JURIST report] and following up on a major June policy address [JURIST report] by Prime Minister Tony Blair, Home Secretary John Reid [official profile] on Thursday released a criminal justice system review [PDF text; summary] making several recommendations aimed at putting the rights of victims before the rights of criminals. To strengthen sentencing procedure, the Home Office recommended ending automatic sentence reductions in exchange for guilty pleas, ending automatic parole consideration rights for life prisoners, requiring unanimous parole board votes to release prisoners, and deporting more foreign citizens to serve sentences in their home countries. To give victims a stronger voice in the process, the Home Office is recommending that parole board members dealing with violent or sexual offenders have personal experience with such crimes, that victims be allowed to speak at such hearings, and that prosecutors always consider the interests of the victim when prosecuting. The Home Office also announced plans to construct 8,000 additional prison cells.

The reform announcements coincided with the release of new UK crime statistics [press release] demonstrating that violent crime rates have remained steady in recent years, as well as the announcement of a plan to reform the Home Office itself [press release] by increasing public accountability and cutting staff. Prime Minister Tony Blair praised the Home Office [press release] on Thursday for its recent efforts. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Paul Hunt, the UN Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, has called for an independent inquiry into war crimes in Gaza, saying that some Israeli attacks on Gaza are a violation of international humanitarian law [ICRC backgrounder, PDF]. In a statement [text] issued Wednesday, Hunt noted that the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip area of Israel [JURIST news archive] significantly worsened between March and June 2006 and condemned the destruction of Gaza's only electric power station [AP report], saying that it threatens the health and safety of civilians due to water shortages and faulty sewage disposal in households, as well as a potential outbreak of communicable diseases.

Hunt said the power station attack may be a war crime under the International Bill of Rights [OHCHR backgrounder] and international humanitarian law, because international law prohibits attacks on civilians. It is questionable whether the Gaza power station made "an effective contribution to the enemy's military action" and destruction of the power station provided "a definite military advantage to the attacker," in order to allow an attack on such a target. Hunt added that the attack on the power station was a war crime if it "was not in conformity with international humanitarian law it amounts to a war crime," and that if the attack caused a disproportionate impact on the civilian population. Hunt also called for the immediate release of Corporal Gilad Shalit, the captured Israeli soldier that sparked violence between Israel and the Hamas led Palestinian Authority in June. IRNA has more. The UN News Centre has additional coverage.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Thursday condemned Israel for using excessive force [statement text] in Lebanon and Hezbollah [CFR backgrounder] for its attacks on civilians. In an address to the UN Security Council, Annan said "Both the deliberate targeting by Hezbollah of Israeli population centres with hundreds of indiscriminate weapons and Israel's disproportionate use of force and collective punishment of the Lebanese people must stop." Annan also called for the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian agencies to be granted access to civilians. The UN News Centre has more.

[JURIST] Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] took Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo! [corporate websites] to task for "Undermining Freedom of Expression in China" [PDF report] as part of a campaign, launched [press release] Thursday, to "combat internet oppression" worldwide. The report alleges that the Internet companies have been complicit in efforts by the Chinese government to silence government critics, in violation of stated corporate policies, and calls upon the companies to petition the Chinese government for the release of "cyber-dissidents."

The Internet companies have made deals with the Chinese government in the past to censor specific search terms that the government finds offensive, such as "human rights," and have complied with subpoena requests to hand over information that has led to the incarceration of Chinese journalists. Such censorship drew sharp criticism from the US Congress [JURIST report] in February, while Google defended the companies' actions [testimony, PDF] as "a meaningful, though imperfect, contribution to the overall expansion of access to information in China." In the run-up to those congressional hearings, Yahoo expressed support for freedom of speech in China [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Nicolo Pollari, chief of the Italian Intelligence and Security Services [official website], told a closed door meeting of the Italian Senate defense committee that Italian intelligence was not involved in the alleged CIA extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive] of Egyptian cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr [Wikipedia profile], also known as Abu Omar. Italian police arrested two intelligence officials [JURIST report] with the Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISMI) [official website; Wikipedia backgrounder] earlier this month in connection with the kidnapping. Prosecutors questioned Pollari [JURIST report] under heavy security on Saturday.

Pollari, along with other senior intelligence members and former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile] have denied any role in Nasr's alleged kidnapping by US CIA operatives, which the Council of Europe (COE) [official website] has cited [JURIST report] as an example of the "global spider's web" [COE graphic] of secret prisons and rendition flights operated by the CIA in Europe. COE investigator Dick Marty has said that "it is unlikely that the Italian authorities were not aware of this large-scale CIA operation." Arrest warrants stemming from the 2003 abduction remain for 26 Americans, most of whom are believed to be CIA agents. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Prosecutors in East Timor [JURIST news archive] questioned former Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri [BBC profile] Thursday about allegations that he illegally distributed weapons to local militias and ordered them to kill political opponents. An investigation began after Vincent "Railos" da Concecao, claiming he was the leader of the alleged hit squad, told reporters that Alkatiri and former Interior Minister Rogerio Lobato provided arms for da Concecao to use against political opponents during weeks of violence [BBC report] that erupted after Alkatiri dismissed 600 striking members of the East Timor army [JURIST report]. Alkatiri has been confined to the city limits [Reuters report] of Dili for 15 days while prosecutors prepare for more questioning.

Prosecutors summoned Alkatiri [JURIST report] for Thursday's questioning even though Alkatiri had refused an earlier summons [JURIST report] in June, claiming immunity from criminal prosecution as a member of Parliament. Alkatiri, who denies the allegations, automatically received a seat in Parliament after he resigned in June [BBC report]. Prosecutors charged Lobato [JURIST report] in the case in June. Meanwhile, the Australian is reporting that Lobato's lawyers have accused [Australian report] the Australian military, who arrested the former minister in June, of violating the Geneva Conventions [ICRC materials] by arresting him without a warrant. AP has more.

[JURIST] During an uncommon open session [PDF witness list] of the US House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, several legal heavyweights debated whether the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text] should be revamped to meet the challenges presented by terrorism. Under the current procedure authorized by FISA, the US Justice Department (DOJ) must seek a warrant from the court established by FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [FJC backgrounder], before using a wiretap. Judge Richard Posner [academic website] of the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals suggested that while the warrant process works well when a crime has already been committed, the burden of proof required to secure a warrant is often insurmountable when the goal of intelligence-gathering is merely to identify potential terrorists. American Bar Association (ABA) President Michael Greco [ABA profile] warned the panel that easing the burdens of proof required to conduct surveillance would undermine the protections of the Fourth Amendment [text].

The committee's ranking minority member, Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), introduced a bill [HR 5371 summary; Harman statement] in May that would reinforce the principle that FISA is the proper means "by which domestic electronic surveillance may be conducted." That bill has the support of 60 Democratic co-sponsors. Several Committee Republicans on Tuesday introduced a competing bill [press release] (HR 5825, text not yet available) to update FISA. That legislation would replace current language with "technology-neutral" terms, shift FISA's focus from how surveillance is to be accomplished to whether probable cause exists to conduct a search at all, and provides the president with the ability to circumvent FISA altogether in the event of a terrorist attack. Last week, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) announced that President Bush had agreed to allow FISC oversight of the NSA domestic surveillance program [JURIST report]. CNET News has more.

[JURIST] Relatives of four Iraqi citizens who were allegedly murdered by US soldiers in the town of Mahmudiya (also "Mahmoudiya") [JURIST news archive] are refusing US requests to exhume the bodies, complicating the US case against the six soldiers. No rape test was performed on the body of a 14-year-old girl who US officials believe was raped, forcing the prosecution to rely heavily on the suspects' accounts. Local Iraqi officials have opened an investigation into the case separate from that of the US military. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has called for an independent probe [JURIST report] and for an end to US troops' immunity under CPA Order 17 [PDF text], which exempts coalition forces, diplomats and US contractors from the "Iraqi legal process."

The US military charged [JURIST report] four soldiers with the rape and murder of the 14-year-old and the murders of her family, and a fifth with dereliction of duty for failing to report the crimes. The five, previously held by the military while under investigation [JURIST report], will now face Article 32 hearings [Navy JAG backgrounder] to determine whether they will face courts-martial. A sixth man, who was discharged from the Army before the allegations arose, was charged [JURIST report] in federal court with murder and rape. He has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report]. Reuters has more. AP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] A federal grand jury in Atlanta has indicted [press release, PDF] two US citizens charged with participating in paramilitary training in Georgia in anticipation of terrorist acts. The suspects, Syed Haris Ahmed and Ebsanul Islam Sadequeee, allegedly developed contacts with jihad supporters and have been connected with at least three of the 17 men arrested on terrorism charges in Toronto [JURIST report]. Wednesday's indictment [PDF text] supersedes an indictment of Ahmed in March, adding three more counts of material support of terrorism and material support of a foreign terrorist organization.

The indictment alleges that the two men went to Washington, DC, last April to make videos of the US Capitol building and the World Bank headquarters for a potential bombing campaign. Though the indictment does not allege that the men posed an immediate threat to national security, US Attorney David Nahmias [official profile] said it was imperative that authorities act to prevent a terror plot. Reuters has more. CBC News has additional coverage. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has local coverage [registration required].

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved [roll call] a measure [HR 5863 summary; PDF text] to seize land on Mount Soledad in San Diego to resolve a dispute over whether a 29-foot cross honoring Korean War veterans [backgrounder] on the property is a government endorsement of religion. The House agreed to transfer the land to the Defense Department before an expected appeal to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] this fall because federal law interpreting the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment [text] has been more permissive toward religious displays on public property than the California constitution [text]. San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre said the House measure, if it becomes law, would merely set the stage for another court challenge because the federal government has no basis seize the city property.

Earlier this month, US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy ordered the continuation of a temporary stay [JURIST reports] against the removal of the monumental cross pending the Ninth Circuit appeal. Kennedy issued the original stay after a district court ordered [Union-Tribune report] in May that the cross be removed by Aug. 2 and that the city be fined $5,000 a day if it was not, finding that the cross constitutes a state endorsement of religion. Philip Paulson, an atheist and Vietnam War veteran, has been challenging the cross for more than 16 years [Paulson commentary]. AP has more. The San Diego Union-Tribune has local coverage.