[JURIST] The Netherlands Justice Ministry [official website] has extradited Dutch citizen Wasem al Delaema to the US for his role in attempted killings of US soldiers in Iraq during October 2003, according to the Ministry on Saturday. The extradition follows a ruling by the Appeals Court in The Hague that al Delaema could be extradited [JURIST report] for the terror attacks, saying the Court expected the US to observe the prisoner's rights. The US Dept. of Justice (DOJ) [official website] asserts that al Delaema will face trial in federal district court rather than a military commission [JURIST news archive] and that he potentially may serve any sentence in the Netherlands, which could be a maximum of life imprisonment. Al Delaema's trial will be the first for a person accused of terrorist activities in Iraq during the war in that country.

Dutch authorities captured al Delaema in the Netherlands in May 2005. The DOJ charged al Delaema [JURIST report; DOJ press release] in July 2005 after he was seen on a videotape obtained by Dutch prosecutors showing the insurgency group Fighters of Fallujah how to set landmines near US military routes; however, al Delaema claims he was forced to appear on the videotape after being beaten. Al Delaema was indicted [DOJ press release] in September 2005 on four conspiracy charges in addition to several charges related to possession and training in the use of explosives. AP has more.

[JURIST] Argentine President Nestor Kirchner [official profile, in Spanish] Friday authorized officials to reveal state secrets concerning human rights violations that occurred during the infamous "Dirty War" [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive] crackdown on dissidents between 1976 and 1983 that resulted in an official "missing" count of 13,000 people. A previous ban on past and present military, police, and other government officials had served as a pretext for officials to not testify before courts.

Government campaigns to prosecute human rights violations during the "Dirty War" have gained momentum following the overturning of amnesty laws [JURIST report] by the Argentine Supreme Court in 2005. Just last week a federal judge issued a second international arrest warrant [JURIST report] for the arrest and extradition from Spain of former Argentine President Isabel Peron [Wikipedia profile], wanted for questioning in connection with her government's role in the Argentine Anti-Communist Alliance (Triple A) [MIPT backgrounder], a government-supported death squad, and the 1976 disappearance of political opponent Hector Aldo Fagetti Gallego. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Committee to Protect Journalists [advocacy website], an international press freedom group, lashed out [press release] Friday at new media rules imposed in Bangladesh Thursday in the wake of the government's declaration of a state of emergency earlier this month. The Emergency Powers Rules of 2007 [UNB report] restrict reporting of political activities in the country and provide for up to five years in prison for offenders. They allow news programming deemed "provocative or harmful" to be blocked and broadcast equipment and printing presses to be seized. CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said "These rules give authorities sweeping powers of censorship that will deprive Bangladeshi citizens of independent information at this critical time of political upheaval. We call on the interim government to rescind these repressive rules immediately."

Bangladesh President Iajuddin Ahmed declared a state of emergency January 11 [JURIST report] and later indefinitely postponed elections scheduled for January 22 after the collapse of a caretaker government in the face of violent protests over election procedures. The head of the country's election commission resigned this past Monday, and the country's attorney general announced his resignation Wednesday [JURIST reports]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Army [official website] announced Friday that it will proceed to court-martial Lt. Col. Steven Lee Jordan [Wikipedia profile] for his alleged role in the Abu Ghraib [JURIST news archive] prisoner abuse scandal. Jordan, the highest-ranking Army officer to face criminal charges as a result of the prisoner abuse scandal, was charged [JURIST report] in April of 2006 with seven violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice [text] including disobeying a superior commissioned officer, dereliction of duty, failure to obey a regulation, false swearing, cruelty and maltreatment, and interfering with an investigation. If found guilty, Jordan faces a possibly maximum prison term of 22 years. Army investigators concluded that Jordan, in one particular episode, gave military police "tacit approval" for violence against prisoners, which contributed to a downward spiral of treatment of detainees.

Jordan, a reservist trained as a civil affairs officer and former head of interrogation operations at Abu Ghraib, alleged at his Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder; JURIST report] that another officer, Col. Thomas Pappas [Wikipedia profile], was actually in charge of Abu Ghraib's Joint Interrogation Debriefing Center [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba [Times profile], who investigated the Abu Ghraib abuses, recommended [Taguba Report, PDF] in 2004 that Jordan be relieved from duty and reprimanded for "failing to ensure that Soldiers under his direct control knew, understood, and followed the protections afforded to detainees in the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War," and "failing to properly supervise Soldiers under his direct authority." A subsequent report [JURIST report; Fay Report, PDF] recommended that both Jordan and Pappas be punished for their roles in the abuse scandal. So far eleven US enlisted soldiers have been convicted and several officers, including Col. Janis Karpinski [JURIST news archive], have been reprimanded and demoted for their participation in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. AP has more.

[JURIST] Officials at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia [official website] said Friday that after two weeks of renewed discussion of the procedural rules to govern the trials of Khmer Rouge suspects accused of involvement in the "killing fields" genocide of the 1970s, "several major issues" remain unresolved. The tribunal did say, however, that "solid" progress had been made in the latest round of talks involving the Cambodian and foreign judges [list] who will take part in the proceedings.

Tribunal judges previously convened in November to establish court rules for trials scheduled to begin in mid-2007, but they failed to agree [JURIST report] on the Draft Internal Rules [text, PDF]. Some disagreements stem from proposed checks and balances that would allow the foreign and Cambodian judges to veto each other’s decisions. Earlier this week, press reports suggested that if the procedural disagreements are not resolved soon some of the non-Cambodian judges may resign [JURIST report].

The ECCC was established by a 2001 law [PDF text] to investigate and try those responsible for the 1975-79 Cambodian genocide that led to the deaths of at least 1.5 million Cambodians by execution, forced hardships or starvation. To date, no top Khmer Rouge officials have faced trial and questions have been raised concerning exactly how many of the Khmer Rouge's top officials will face the tribunal, as several of those responsible for the genocide have recently died [JURIST report] and others are in failing health. The prosecutors nonetheless face significant administrative, legal and linguistic obstacles in preparing cases for trial; their formal investigations only began in July [JURIST report] of last year.

[JURIST] Judge L. T. Senter, Jr. of the US District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi on Friday rejected [opinion, PDF] for the time being a proposed settlement [JURIST report] reached between the State Farm [official website] insurance company and Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood [official website] on behalf of hundreds of Mississippi policy holders whose claims were denied after Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive]. Senter said the parties had not provided enough information to allow the court to conclude that the "proposed settlement establishes a procedure that is fair, just, balanced, or reasonable." Senter was particularly concerned with the wellbeing of "other [potential] litigants... who are not members of the proposed class... and their views on the fairness of the proposed settlement," which would bind a "large number of policyholders into the process of binding arbitration" without their assent to the proposal.

The proposed settlement, if ultimately approved, would award $80 million to the 640 named homeowners who filed the lawsuit and would also provide an additional $50 million for approximately 35,000 other homeowners in Mississippi who did not sue State Farm after their claims were denied. The $50 million figure, however, is just a minimum and depending on the number of applicants, could easily reach hundreds of millions. The settlement would also end Hood's investigation into allegations of fraudulent claim denials by State Farm, including allegations that the company pressured its engineers to doctor their reports. Hood has also brought actions against other insurance companies, including Allstate and Nationwide [corporate websites]. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] A Jordanian appeals court has upheld a military court's death sentence [JURIST report] for a would-be Iraqi suicide bomber who attempted to detonate a suicide bomb as part of a series of 2005 deadly hotel bombings in Amman. Sajida al-Rishawi was convicted in December along with six others who were tried in absentia of conspiracy to carry out a terrorist act causing death and destruction and illegal possession of weapons and explosives; al-Rishawi was the only defendant present for the trial. The attack in which she took part killed 60 people at a wedding party. Her husband's suicide belt went off as planned but her own failed to explode. Her death sentence can now only be overturned by Jordan's King Abdullah [official website]. Jordan executes some 10 convicts per year for serious crimes.

In the wake of the 2005 bombings, Jordan's National Assembly [official website] passed a controversial new anti-terrorism bill [JURIST report] that opposition parties have said is tantamount to "martial law" [JURIST report] and an impermissible curb on civil liberties. A top UN official has encouraged the Jordanian authorities to revisit the legislation [JURIST report] to address rights issues.

[JURIST] The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) [official website] has unanimously approved a regulation that will prohibit utilities from buying electricity produced by power plants whose emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) [EPA backgrounder] exceed the state's standards. The rule [CPUC materials], which the four-member commission discussed and voted on [recorded video] Thursday, forbids California utilities from making "new long-term commitments" - including new construction, "major investments" in existing plants and contracts lasting five years or longer - to facilities that emit more than 1,100 pounds of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour. Most gas-fired power plants meet that standard, while most coal-burning plants do not. Coal-fired plants outside California now supply about 20 percent of the state's electricity. In a press release [text], PUC President Michael R. Peevey said the commission "has long anticipated capping greenhouse gas emissions in order to ensure that load-serving entities make long-term commitments to energy resources that have GHG emissions profiles that are at least as clean as California's existing portfolio." The chief executive of one large utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. [corporate website], likewise praised the "aggressive and pragmatic policy" [press release] as an "essential step to addressing climate change."

Scientific research has shown that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases contribute to global warming [EPA climate change materials]. California's regulation is intended to encourage the growth of alternative energy sources, such as wind and solar power, that produce less pollution. The rule, which is scheduled to be implemented on Feb. 1, was adopted pursuant to an emissions-control bill [legislative materials; law firm backgrounder] passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger [press release] last year. AP has more. The Los Angeles Times has local coverage.

Also this week, the Los Angeles Times reported [text] that 221 companies had registered their emissions levels with the voluntary California Climate Action Registry [website] as of last month. Under the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 [text], also signed by Schwarzenegger last year [JURIST report], companies that joined the registry before Jan. 1 could earn "early action" credits that they could then sell to companies having trouble meeting strict new emissions standards.

This report was prepared in partnership with the Pittsburgh Journal of Environmental and Public Health Law.

[JURIST] A federal judge in Nebraska ruled Friday that the state cannot enforce a 25-year old ban on corporate farming while it appeals a US Eighth Circuit Court of Appeal decision ruling the ban unconstitutional. As anticipated [JURIST report], Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning [official website] appealed [cert. petition, PDF] the ruling to the US Supreme Court earlier this month.

In December, the Eighth Circuit upheld [PDF text; JURIST report] a lower court decision holding the 1982 voter-endorsed ban on corporate farming unconstitutional because it violates the dormant commerce clause. As described by the appeals court, the ban "prohibits corporations or syndicates (non-family-owned limited partnerships) from acquiring an interest in 'real estate used for farming or ranching in [Nebraska]' or 'engag[ing] in farming or ranching,' with certain exceptions," and the appeals court found that this "discriminates against out-of-state entities both on its face and because of its discriminatory intent." AP has more.