[JURIST] Fewer Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] prisoners will be charged with war crimes this week than originally expected, chief prosecutor USAF Col. Moe Davis [official profile, PDF] told Reuters Monday. Revised charges were expected to be filed against up to 20 suspected members of al Qaeda and the Taliban by February, but new procedural rules [manual, PDF] implemented earlier this month will delay the trials for at least half of those detainees. Under the new rules, hearings must take place before a tribunal judge within 30 days of the filing of charges; the trial must commence within 120 days of the charging. Davis also pointed to Guantanamo's limited facilities as partially responsible for the delay, as only one courtroom is available.

Davis said that he was very likely to recommend the death penalty for some of the 14 high-value detainees [DNI backgrounder, PDF] moved to the camp [JURIST report] from CIA secret prisons in September. First evidence is expected to be presented by this summer. Davis also said Monday that Australian detainee David Hicks [JURIST news archive] will likely be among those charged [JURIST report] this week. Reuters has more.

The US Supreme Court effectively dismissed the charges against the original 10 Guantanamo defendants accused of terrorism in June when it rejected [JURIST report] President Bush's initial military commission system, saying it was created without proper authorization from Congress. In response, the Republican-dominated Congress created a new military tribunal system [JURIST report] this past September when it passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) [PDF text; JURIST news archive], elaborated in the manual [JURIST report] published January 18.

[JURIST] Ali Hassan al-Majid [JURIST news archive, BBC profile], the cousin of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] also known to the Western media as "Chemical Ali," insisted before the Iraqi High Tribunal [official website] Monday that he should not be forced to stand trial because he has the same kind of immunity from Iraqi legal process afforded to US troops. Al-Majid's lawyers challenged the Tribunal's jurisdiction by pointing to Coalition Provisional Authority Order Number 17 [PDF], which grants immunity to US troops fighting in Iraq from the Iraqi legal process. Prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon countered that while US troops may have immunity within Iraq, they may be tried by the US military. Al-Majid faces war crimes charges in the ongoing genocide trial [JURIST news archive; BBC trial timeline] based on Saddam's regime's involvement in the slaughter of tens of thousands of Kurds. On Sunday, al-Majid unapologetically admitted in court [JURIST report] that he gave orders for the destruction of dozens of Kurdish villages and the relocation of thousands of Kurds in the 1980s.

Al-Majid is now the leading defendant [JURIST report] in the trial following the December 30 execution [JURIST report] of Saddam Hussein. The six remaining defendants are all former Hussein regime officials and were originally charged with the late dictator in connection with the deaths of some 180,000 Kurds during the so-called "Anfal" campaigns [HRW backgrounder] of the 1980s. On Monday, al-Faroon introduced to the court 45 documents allegedly proving the defendants' guilt. AP has more. VOI has local coverage.

[JURIST] The European Commission (EC) [official website] said Monday that it will seek to keep restrictions on the US government's use of EU airline passenger information in the new agreement being negotiated between the European Union (EU) [official website] and the United States. An interim agreement [JURIST report] signed in October 2006 and expiring in July 2007 gives the US access to passenger record data - including names, addresses, telephone numbers and credit card details - from European airlines conducting transatlantic flights. In talks [AP report] last week with German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble [official profile], US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff [White House profile] emphasized the importance of the data in preventing terrorism and asserted that the US desired more flexibility in the use of the information, which, in its current form [BBC Q&A; DHS press release], limits its use and the amount of time it can be retained and requires the US to affirmatively request the data.

The original passenger data agreement was struck down as illegal [JURIST report] under EU privacy laws in May 2006 by the European Court of Justice [official website]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Italian Justice Minister Clemente Mastella [official website, in Italian] has said that he will refuse to vote for a proposed law [JURIST report] that would give same-sex couples [JURIST news archive] many of the rights that heterosexual couples enjoy. In comments over the weekend, Mastella called the proposal immoral and said that Prime Minister Romano Prodi's current governing coalition must not be made "hostages" of the radical left.

Last week, Cardinal Camillo Ruini [Wikipedia profile], head of the Catholic bishops in Italy, denounced the proposed legislation [JURIST report] while speaking to a conference of Italian bishops, alleging that same-sex unions went against the basic purpose of marriage - to produce children. The proposed legislation would give same-sex couples combined medical insurance, the right to visit their partner in prisons or hospitals, inheritance rights, and decision-making authority should one partner become sick. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The German EU presidency said Monday that it would support EU anti-racism legislation [press release] that would impose maximum one to three-year terms of imprisonment for "[p]ublic incitement to hatred and violence for reasons of racism or xenophobia," but would not push for any law that would explicitly ban swastikas [JURIST report] or criminalize Holocaust denial across the European Union (EU) [official website]. The proposed Framework Decision would criminalize "[p]ublic approval, denial or gross minimisation of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes" but would allow each EU country, through a national or international court, to determine what constitutes genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for purposes of the ban.

The reluctance of some member states to criminalize swastikas and Holocaust denial most likely caused Germany to forgo plans for EU-wide prohibitions despite earlier statements [JURIST report]. Last week, EU Freedom, Security and Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini [official website; BBC profile] urged the 27 EU nations [JURIST report] to adopt EU-wide laws criminalizing denial of the Holocaust and incitement of hatred and racial violence; on Friday, however, Italy published a draft law [JURIST report] proposing prison sentences for race-based hate crimes, but not making Holocaust denial an explicit crime. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile] announced Monday that rules under the Equality Act [text, PDF] protecting same-sex couples' rights to adopt children [JURIST report] without discrimination will apply without exception, denying special exemptions for faith-based adoption agencies opposed to same-sex unions and/or homosexuality. In a statement [text], Blair said:

[T]here is no place in our society for discrimination. That is why I support the right of gay couples to apply to adopt like any other couple. And that is why there can be no exemptions for faith-based adoption agencies offering publicly-funded services from regulations which prevent discrimination. . . .

[T]he regulations that the Government will lay before Parliament . . . will include a transition period before these regulations come fully into force at the end of 2008 for existing adoption agencies. This will be coupled . . . with a statutory duty for any adoption agency which does not process applications from same sex couples to refer them to another agency. I have also asked for a regular independent assessment from adoption and child welfare experts on the impact of the sexual orientation regulations on adoption in order to maintain the existing body of expertise.

[JURIST] Iraqi-born Dutch national Wesam al Delaema [DOJ press release] pleaded not guilty Monday to attacks on US troops in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2003. Al Delaema now faces conspiracy charges [DOJ press release; JURIST report] for allegedly conspiring to participate in insurgent attacks on US troops in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2003. The US Justice Department announced Monday that al Delaema was extradited to the US [press release] over the weekend to face trial in what the DOJ called "the first US criminal prosecution arising from terrorist activities taking place in Iraq." If convicted, Al Delaema could be sentenced to life in prison and possibly be allowed to serve his time in the Netherlands.

A court in the Netherlands [JURIST news archive] authorized al Delaema's extradition [JURIST report] of to the US in December after he was held there for about two years. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Wayne County Probate Court [official website] in Detroit, Michigan has scheduled a six-member jury trial for February 19 to settle the disputed estate of civil rights icon Rosa Parks [TIME profile], famously arrested in 1955 for refusing to give up her seat at the front of a Montgomery, Alabama bus to a white man. Parks died [JURIST report] in October 2005 at the age of 92. The lawsuit stems from a challenge to Parks' will brought by her only living relatives -- 13 nieces and nephews -- in November 2005, claiming they were unfairly cut out of their aunt's will by her caregiver and longtime friend, Elaine Steele. Parks' will left virtually all of her assets to the nonprofit Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development [official website], but Parks' family members claim they have the right to make decisions about the marketing of Parks' image and likeness, rights that are potentially worth millions of dollars. The Detroit Free Press has more.

In April 2006 Alabama Governor Bob Riley [official website] signed [JURIST report] into law legislation [JURIST document] authorizing pardons for Parks and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. [King Center profile] as well as other civil rights activists convicted of violating Jim Crow laws in Alabama during the US civil rights movement.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] confirmed war crimes charges [press release] Monday against Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga [Trial Watch profile], making Lubanga the first ICC defendant to face trial. As founder of the militant Union of Patriotic Congolese [Global Security backgrounder], Lubanga is accused [indictment, PDF; case materials] of enlisting child soldiers [BBC report] in the Democratic Republic of Congo's violence-plagued Ituri district [HRW backgrounder].

Following a pre-trial hearing [JURIST report] in November, ICC judges deliberated [JURIST report] over whether there was sufficient evidence to proceed against Lubanga. Lubanga has maintained his innocence, claiming that the prosecution has withheld evidence necessary to prepare a full defense. Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] said that last year that he is also preparing to submit evidence [JURIST report] to ICC judges in a separate case regarding crimes committed in Darfur [JURIST news archive]. Charges in the Darfur case are expected by February. Reuters has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: International Criminal Court | Op-ed: Instrument of Justice: The ICC Prosecutor Reflects [Luis Moreno-Ocampo]

[JURIST] Anti-abortion protestors took to the streets in Lisbon, Portugal [JURIST news archive] Sunday in advance of a referendum vote scheduled for February 11 in which voters will decide whether to ease restrictions imposed by the current Portuguese abortion law [text, in Portuguese]. The Portuguese Parliament [official website, in Portuguese] approved [JURIST report] the national referendum in October after the ruling Socialist Party [party website, in Portuguese] proposed [press release, in Portuguese; JURIST report] the idea in September. If passed, the referendum would legalize abortion up until the 10th week of pregnancy for all women. The current law only permits an abortion [JURIST news archive] up until the 12th week of pregnancy in cases of risk to the mother's health, up until the 16th week in cases of rape, and up to the 24th week in cases of fetal malformation.

In 1998, a similar referendum on legalizing abortion was declared void due to low voter turnout. This time, over 50 percent of registered voters must cast their ballots for the referendum to be valid, while current opinion polls reportedly show support for the measure waning. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers for Nicolo Pollari, the former head of the Italian Intelligence and Security Services (SISMI) [official website], moved Monday to stop Pollari's trial on charges that he was involved in the alleged 2003 CIA kidnapping [JURIST news archive; WP timeline] and rendition of Egyptian cleric Moustafa Hassan Nasr [Wikipedia profile]. Pollari's lawyers argued at the preliminary hearing that the evidence proving his innocence is classified information. The presiding judge has the option to rule on the point or refer the case to the Italian Constitutional Court [official website], which would then have to rule on the constitutionality of the Italian criminal code article which says that a defendant can be tried even if part of the evidence regarding him is classified.

The Italian cabinet relieved Pollari of his duties [JURIST report] as the head of Italy's intelligence agency in November 2006. Pollari has testified before parliamentary committees, denying allegations [JURIST report] that he assisted the CIA with the extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive]. In addition to Pollari, 34 other Italian officials and CIA agents [JURIST report] face trial for their alleged involvement, although proceedings against the CIA operatives are very likely to take place in absentia as the US is not expected to hand them over. Nasr was reportedly seized by CIA agents with the help of SISMI on the streets of Milan in 2003 before being taken to an American airbase and then to Egypt. AKI has more.

[JURIST] Libya is willing to release of five Bulgarian nurses convicted of infecting over 400 Libyan patients, primarily children [JURIST news archive] in exchange for compensation, Seif al-Islam, the son of Libyan leader Colonel Muhamar Gaddafi [BBC profile], told the Bulgarian newspaper 24 Hours [media website] Monday. Seif al-Islam said the plan - designed to satisfy the parents of those affected as well as Libya, Bulgaria, and the EU - anticipates "substantial compensation for the families of those affected." Al-Islam also promised that Libya would not carry out the death sentences against the six medics, adding "there will be no executions... Libya is not Iraq."

The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor were convicted and sentenced [JURIST report] to death in their second trial on December 19 after the initial guilty verdict was overturned by the Libyan Supreme Court in 2005 and a retrial ordered [JURIST reports]. Bulgaria and its allies, including the US [JURIST report] and the European Union, contend that the nurses are innocent and have said they have been tortured into admitting guilt in the case [BBC trial timeline; BBC Q&A]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] US Defense Secretary Robert Gates [official profile] has ordered all branches of the military to minimize their use of "stop loss" tactics to keep soldiers on active duty beyond their service contracts, notwithstanding a series of court rulings upholding the controversial practice. The "stop loss" policy [Wikipedia backgrounder], long criticized as a "backdoor draft," allows each branch of the military to keep troops for three months prior to and following a deployment and to prevent troops from retiring or separating prior to deployments. Gates has set a February 28 deadline for each service to come up with ways to cut down their use of "stop loss." US Army spokeswoman Rhonda Paige has indicated that a total of 10,711 soldiers were subject to stop-loss restrictions [Stars and Stripes report] as of 31 December 2006; the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force have not used the program since 2003. AP has more.

In 2005, citing the potential for substantial disruption and diversion of military resources, US District Judge Royce C. Lambert refused to release [JURIST report] a "stop loss" soldier from Army duty. Three months later, in the context of a lawsuit launched by a soldier posted to Afghanistan, a panel of the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling [PDF] upholding the military's power [JURIST report] to issue emergency "stop-loss" orders pursuant to presidential authorization [US Code Title 10, s. 12305 text].

[JURIST] The government of Norway has proposed new legislation that would allow embryonic stem cell research [JURIST news archive] to potentially find cures for various diseases. Norwegian Minister of Health and Care Services Silvia Brustad [official website, English version] said late last week that the government hoped researchers could use the stem cells to find potential cures for AIDS, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Under current Norwegian law, fertilized eggs or stem cells are not able to be used in research, and eggs created for artificial insemination must be destroyed. Brustad said passing the legislation would bring Norway more in line with other European nations, including Germany, Italy and Slovenia, which approved [JURIST report] an EU research budget to fund stem cell research last year.

The proposed legislation would require consent from parents before stem cells are used for research and also requires a national ethics panel to approve the research before it commences. The legislation would also prohibit the fertilization of eggs specifically for research; only extra embryos of poor quality produced through in vitro fertilization [Wikipedia backgrounder] or extras that have been stored for over five years may be used. The ruling coalition currently has the necessary majority to pass the legislation, but it is unknown whether any lawmakers from the Labour, Center or Socialist parties will oppose the controversial amendment. AP has more.

Last year Australia lifted its restrictions on stem cell research [JURIST report] and also approved the therapeutic cloning of human embryos. In the United States, the House of Representatives passed a bill earlier this month which would amend the Public Health Service Act to allow for additional embryonic stem cell research [JURIST report]. The White House has promised to veto the bill. President Bush vetoed an earlier embryonic stem cell research bill [JURIST report] last summer.