[JURIST] The Presidency of the European Union [official website], currently held by Germany, reiterated the EU's opposition to the death penalty "under all circumstances" in a statement [text] released Friday, as two Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] co-defendants in Iraq continued to face possible hanging. Former chief judge of Iraq's Hussein-era Revolutionary Court Awad Hamed al-Bandar [Wikipedia profile] and former Iraqi intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al Tikriti [GlobalSecurity profile] were sentenced to death [JURIST report] in November alongside Hussein for crimes against humanity committed in the village of Dujail in 1982. They were originally expected to be executed Thursday [JURIST report], but the executions were postponed [JURIST report] due to what was described as "international pressure." An Iraqi official said afterwards that the executions could still take place after the end of the Eid holiday next week, but a lawyer for the two condemned men was quoted Friday by Reuters as saying [Reuters report] that the defense still had a "great hope of staying the hanging verdict."

The EU presidency, which returned to Germany on January 1 for a six month period, joined the growing international outcry against capital punishment and emphasized the importance of overcoming sectarian dissonance in Iraq:

Ensuring accountability for the crimes committed during the former regime can assist in furthering national reconciliation and dialogue in Iraq. The Presidency recalls that in order to achieve this important aim the prosecution of those crimes must adhere to the requirements of a fair process.

[JURIST] Imam Fawaz Damra, former leader of Ohio's largest mosque, the Islamic Center of Cleveland [official website], has been deported to the West Bank via Jordan, US immigration officials announced Friday. Born in the Palestinian Authority, Damra was indicted [PDF text] in 2003 on charges of concealing ties to alleged terrorist groups when he applied for US citizenship; he was sentenced [JURIST report] in 2004 by an Ohio district court to two months in federal prison and four months of house arrest. Prosecutors also asked for a revocation of Damra's citizenship, but the judge did not rule on the issue at the time. He was arrested in Ohio in late 2005 as a threat to national security and agreed to deportation in January 2006 rather than face new charges of terrorist ties; the process was delayed [Plain Dealer report] as officials sought a nation to accept Damra.

A statement from Damra's wife, published on his personal website, indicated that Damra would not appeal the decision:

After spending many days and nights in prayer, Fawaz, putting his trust in God, made a decision not to further pursue his fight to stay in the United States. While consulting with our attorney, we realized that we could not fight for justice in a court that upholds unjust laws including new laws under the Patriot Act.

[JURIST] The number of death sentences issued in 2006 reached the lowest level in 30 years, according to a 2006 year-end report [PDF text; press release] issued by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) [advocacy website]. The DPIC reported that there were at most 114 death sentences issued in 2006, as opposed to 128 in 2005 and the 1996 high of 317. In addition, only 53 executions were carried out, as opposed to the 60 performed in 2005. Deborah Fleischaker, director of the American Bar Association's Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project [official website], cited a lack of public confidence in the death penalty as a result of the possibility of making mistakes, illuminated by the release of 123 people from questionable death row sentences since 1976.

On Tuesday, a New Jersey State commission recommended [JURIST report] that the state abolish the death penalty completely, replacing it with a life sentence without the possibility of parole. If the commission's report makes its way into law New Jersey will become the first US jurisdiction to ban capital punishment in over 35 years. In December, Florida Governor Jeb Bush suspended all executions [JURIST report] in that state after a lethal injection execution there was botched, and a federal judge in California effectively suspended capital punishment there [JURIST report] by ruling that that state's lethal injection procedure creates "an undue and unnecessary risk" of cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution. AP has more.

[JURIST] The government of Southern Sudan, an autonomous region in Sudan [JURIST news archive], will join the United Nations [official website] in probing alleged sex crimes committed by international peacekeepers against at least twenty Sudanese children in Juba, according to a statement [text] from the Southern Sudanese minister for presidential affairs Thursday. The statement promised a thorough inquiry, emphasizing: "If any persons are proved to have committed these terrible crimes, the Government of Southern Sudan will take all possible steps to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice." The move follows a Wednesday statement [text] by a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon confirming the UN inquiry and indicating that all credible allegations will be turned over to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). The UN investigation was spawned by an internal UNICEF [official website] report and interviews with alleged victims. Reuters has more.

On Thursday a UN spokesperson confirmed that the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) [official website] repatriated four peacekeepers to Bangladesh late last year following allegations of sexual abuse. Michele Montas said that the Department of Peacekeeping Operations [official website] will work with the Bangladeshi government to monitor the case and any actions taken against the repatriated peacekeepers. Thirteen other UNMIS staffers are currently under investigation for misconduct, though not all are related to the sex abuse charges. The UN News Service has more.

[JURIST] The Catholic Diocese of Spokane [diocesan website] has agreed to settle molestation claims against priests on Thursday for $48 million as part of a Chapter 11 reorganization plan [diocesan materials]. Victims and a federal bankruptcy judge must still approve the deal, however, Judge Gregg W. Zive of the Nevada Bankruptcy Court, who is mediating the settlement, said he believes the settlement would provide "closure and allow [survivors] to move forward and continue with the healing process." The diocese filed for Chapter 11 in 2004 stating that the sexual abuse claims far exceeded its $11 million in assets. Last May, a $45.7 million settlement offered by the diocese was rejected [JURIST report] by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington because it only covered 75 of approximately 185 abuse complaints against the diocese.

The Archdiocese of Portland filed for Chapter 11 [JURIST report] in 2004, and the dioceses of Tuscon, Spokane, and Davenport soon followed suit in the wake of hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits [JURIST news archive] against clergy. Last month, the Portland archdiocese filed a new bankruptcy plan [JURIST report] including a $75 million settlement of the sexual abuse claims. AP has more.

[JURIST] The British Ministry of Defence [official website] said Thursday that nine soldiers videotaped beating Iraqi civilians [JURIST report] in an incident in southern Iraq in 2004 will not face charges before military courts-martial. The Army Prosecuting Authority (APA) [official website] said that while there was enough evidence to bring assault charges against two of the soldiers, the time period for charging the soldiers had expired. The APA also stated that two other soldiers could still face court-martial, but that most likely they will "be dealt with summarily by the commanding officer, or by internal army administrative action."

The soldiers were caught on tape beating Iraqi civilian youths in the southeastern city of Amarah. Nine men from the 1st Battalion, Light Infantry were investigated by the army's Special Investigation Branch before referrals were made to the APA. The video was made public by a British tabloid last year, prompting calls for a speedy prosecution [JURIST report] of UK troops shown on the tape and plans for a lawsuit [JURIST report] by two Iraqi civilians who said they were beaten by British soldiers following a demonstration that turned violent. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The White House has defended President Bush's attachment of a signing statement [text] to the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act [PDF text; HR 6407 summary], dismissing arguments that the statement changes administration policy on when mail can be opened without a warrant. Bush signed the law in late December and attached a statement, which said in part:

The executive branch shall construe subsection 404(c) of title 39, as enacted by subsection 1010(e) of the Act, which provides for opening of an item of a class of mail otherwise sealed against inspection, in a manner consistent, to the maximum extent permissible, with the need to conduct searches in exigent circumstances, such as to protect human life and safety against hazardous materials, and the need for physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection.

...there is nothing new here. What the President is arguing -- what the signing statement indicates is what present law allows, and making it clear what the provisions are within present law in terms of dealing with some of these items....

Q But what's new is the need for physical searches specifically authorized by foreign intelligence collection. And people we've talked to say there is no law that specifically deals with that aspect. So I'm wondering if the President views his executive power as he did in the -- I'll use your words -- terrorist surveillance program is the same here when it comes to mail in the United States?

MR. SNOW: Again, it says "physical searches specifically authorized by law for foreign intelligence collection." What the experts seem to have bracketed out is the specifically authorized by law as it applies to that provision. All this is saying is that there are provisions at law for -- in exigent circumstances for such inspections. It has been thus. This is not a change in the law. This is not new. It is not as was described in one paper a "sweeping new power" by the President. It is, in fact, merely a statement of present law and present authorities granted to the President of the United States.

[JURIST] President Bush told reporters at the White House Thursday that last weekend's videoed hanging of Saddam Hussein amidst taunts from guards and witnesses fell short of what he would have liked, but nonetheless insisted on the legitimacy of the proceeding. Speaking at a news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Bush said [transcript]:

Saddam Hussein was given a trial that he was unwilling to give the thousands of people he killed. He was given a fair trial -- something he was unwilling to give thousands of Iraqi citizens, who he brutalized. I wish, obviously, that the proceedings had been done in a more dignified way. But, nevertheless, he was given justice; the thousands of people he killed were not.

The first was that his trial was marred by serious irregularities denying him a fair hearing and these have been documented very clearly. Second, the Iraqi Government engaged in an unseemly and evidently politically motivated effort to expedite the execution by denying time for a meaningful appeal and by closing off every avenue to review the punishment. Finally, the humiliating manner in which the execution was carried out clearly violated human rights law...

(1) The provisions of the IHT [Iraqi High Tribunal] Statute must be immediately amended to ensure their consistency with international law. Especially:

(a) Insofar as it is interpreted to require execution within thirty days of a final judgement, Article 27(2) of the IHT Statute must be amended to ensure that rights to appeal and to seek pardon or commutation are fully respected.

(b) Article 27(2) of the IHT Statute must be amended to permit anyone sentenced to death to petition for pardon or the commutation of sentence, as required by Article 6(4) of the ICCPR [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights].

(c) To ensure the independence of the IHT required by Article 14(1) of the ICCPR, Articles 4 and 33 of the IHT Statute must be amended to eliminate the Government's powers to remove a judge "for any reason" and to selectively remove members of the Ba'ath Party from serving on the IHT or its staff.

(2) The Government must provide effective protection for all participants in criminal proceedings before the IHT — including defense attorneys, judges, prosecutors, and witnesses — in order to ensure the right to life of the participants and the fairness of the trial pursuant to Articles 6 and 14 of the ICCPR.

(3) The other death sentences inflicted in the Dujail case should be commuted to life imprisonment or other substantial terms of imprisonment. This would prevent more executions on the basis of sentences imposed after a flawed trial, provide time for appeals to be given due consideration and make it possible that these senior members of Saddam's regime be tried for other atrocities as well.