[JURIST] White House spokesman Tony Snow Wednesday called for the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [BBC profile] to act on the case of Jamal Jafaar Mohammed, a Shiite lawmaker who US military intelligence [New York Times report; CNN report] says was convicted and sentenced to death in absentia in 1984 for his role in a series of car bombings at the US and French embassies in Kuwait in 1983. Mohammed was elected to parliament in December 2005 and is alleged to back Shiite-led violence. He currently enjoys parliamentary immunity. Snow told reporters at a White House press briefing: "the one thing we've made clear with the Iraqi government, and the Prime Minister has made clear, is that you have a situation now where you have a government that's committed to peace. And people who are operating outside the law committing acts of violence, you're going to need to deal with them."

The 1983 embassy bombings killed six people and injured 80 more. Seventeen people were subsequently arrested and convicted in Kuwait for their roles in the attacks. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Fifty-seven countries have signed [press release] an international treaty in Paris banning governments from holding suspects in secret detention. The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance [draft text] was approved [JURIST report] by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) [official website] in June and adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly in December, but it has not been endorsed by the United States and several western European countries, including Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy.

US State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack said that the US helped draft the treaty, but that it "did not meet our expectations" when it came time to sign the document. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile] said, however, that the US often supports UNHCHR activities without signing the treaties. The treaty will become legally binding once 20 countries ratify it. AP has more.

[JURIST] The military judge overseeing the court-martial [JURIST report] of US Army 1st Lt. Ehren Watada [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] declared a mistrial Wednesday after throwing out a pretrial agreement in which Watada admitted that he failed to deploy to Iraq [JURIST report] with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division [official website] in June. Watada was initially charged [charge sheet, PDF; JURIST report] with missing troop movement, contempt toward officials, and multiple specifications [JURIST report] of conduct unbecoming. The judge, Lt. Col. John Head, stated that the agreement was enough to find Watada guilty, and prosecutors moved for a mistrial because the jury had already seen the pretrial agreement. Head granted a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled for March.

Watada, a 28-year-old Honolulu native who is the first commissioned officer in the US military to publicly refuse deployment to Iraq, refuses to be classified as a conscientious objector because he does not object to war in general, just to the "illegal" war in Iraq. He offered to serve in Afghanistan, but the US Army refused. His vocal protests and participation in rallies by Veterans for Peace [advocacy website] and Courage to Resist [advocacy website] led to the charges of conduct unbecoming an officer and the original charge of contempt toward officials. Last month, Head ruled that Watada could not argue the legality of the war [JURIST report] as part of his defense during his court-martial, and on Monday on the opening day of the trial Head directly barred [JURIST report] international and constitutional law scholars from testifying on the point. The Seattle Times has more.

[JURIST] UK Prime Minister Tony Blair [official profile] pushed [PMQs transcript] Wednesday for a half-elected, half-appointed House of Lords [official website] that would remove 92 House members who still inherit their parliamentary seats and set the number of seats at 540. Currently, the House of Lords does not have a fixed number of members. According to House of Commons Leader Jack Straw [official profile], currently appointed members would not be removed and Church of England bishops would remain as appointees. AP has more.

In 2003, cabinet members rejected [BBC report] five different reform initiatives, which varied from an entirely elected to entirely appointed House of Lords. Proposals were again initiated in 2006, with the release of a document [text, PDF] by a cross-party working group on Lords' reform that hinted at a half-elected, half-appointed House with 450 Lords sitting in the chamber.

[JURIST] The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [official website] of Nigeria [JURIST news archive] on Wednesday released an advisory list [press release] of 135 Nigerian politicians considered to be too corrupt to hold office, including Vice President Atiku Abubakar [official website], who has left the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) [BBC profile] to run for the presidential ticket. Commission chairman Nuhu Ribadu explained that by making the list, distributed to political parties in anticipation of national elections in April [INEC website], commission hoped to encourage political parties to prevent named politicians from running for office. The full list includes 82 opposition candidates and 53 candidates from the ruling PDP party.

Abubakar and President Olusegun Obasanjo [official profile] have been in a bitter legal dispute [JURIST report] over whether Abubakar can remain in office as Vice President while running for president. In October, Abubakar was formally charged [JURIST report] on twelve counts of corruption. In December the PDP expelled [Afrol report] Abubakar from the party over corruption allegations [AP report] linking the Vice President to US Congressman William Jefferson [JURIST news archive]. A spokesman for Abubakar dismissed the commission list released Wednesday as blackmail. BBC News has more. The Nigerian Tribune has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Philippine Senate [official website] passed an anti-terrorism bill [press release] on Tuesday which will allow authorities to detain suspected terrorists for up to three days without filing charges. The legislation also includes a provision that grants wrongfully detained persons a right to compensation of up to P500,000, roughly 10,000 American dollars. Philippine Senate President Manuel Villar [official profile] expressed optimism for the bill's future, stating that it "hopefully will really stop terrorists in their tracks." The Philippines government has been fighting Islamist separatists and communist rebels for years, and both groups have used terror tactics [CFR Q/A]; in 2004 the Abu Sayyaf Group [BBC backgrounder] bombed a ferry in Manila Bay, killing some 130 passengers.

The Senate version of the anti-terror bill must still be adjusted to match the House of Representatives version passed last year, which according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita [official profile], is likely to happen at a June meeting of the bicameral conference committee. The Philippine Star has more.

[JURIST] Three former US Army officers and two civilians were indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday for charges relating to a scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) [official website] in Iraq. Army Colonel Curtis G. Whiteford, Army Lt. Colonels Debra M. Harrison and Michael B. Wheeler allegedly engaged in a bidding scam with US businessman Philip H. Bloom that awarded over $8 million to contractors in exchange for money, cars, and jewelry. According to a DOJ press release the Army officers rigged "the bids on contracts being awarded by the CPA-SC so that all of the contracts were awarded to Bloom" and received in return "over $1 million in cash, SUVs, sports cars, a motorcycle, jewelry, computers, business class airline tickets, liquor, promise of future employment with Bloom, and other items of value."

In April, Bloom pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to charges of conspiracy, bribery and money laundering. Last month, he was sentenced to nine years imprisonment [JURIST report] on those charges, and told to forfeit $3.6 million he received for awarding contracts to American companies. AP has more.

[JURIST] Military officials announced Wednesday that the US Navy admiral overseeing US Southern Command [official website] has endorsed six of the seven recommendations made by US Army Col. Richard Bassett in a probe of alleged detainee abuse at Guantanamo Bay but has rejected any further action [JURIST report] against the US Marine paralegal who initially filed an affidavit reporting a conversation with several guards in which the abuses were allegedly described. Bassett was directed to undertake the investigation last fall after Marine Sgt. Heather Cerveny provided a two-page sworn statement [PDF] claiming she conversed [JURIST report] with a group of off-duty Marines who bragged of beating and abusing detainees. Southern Command said in a press release that "investigators conducted 20 separate interviews" and determined that "the evidence did not support any allegations of mistreatment or harassment."

Admiral James Stadrivis agreed with Bassett that no disciplinary action should be taken against the servicemen identified by Cerveny in her affidavit, that counseling should be given to one female guard who later made a fictitious claim of abuse, that guards working closely with detainees should be rotated, and that detainee procedures should be continuously updated. AP has more.

[JURIST] An Italian judge Wednesday ordered New York Army National Guard [official website] soldier Mario Lozano [Wikipedia profile] to stand trial on charges of voluntary homicide in connection with the death of Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari [BBC profile] at a US checkpoint in Iraq in March 2005. Calipari was shot to death in 2005 while driving to the Baghdad airport after securing the release of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena [Wikipedia profile] from Iraqi kidnappers. A second Italian agent, Andrea Carpani, was also wounded when US soldiers perceived the car as insurgents speeding through a security checkpoint.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman says, however, that the US would not hand Lozano over for trial, which is scheduled to begin April 17. US and Italian officials have failed to agree [JURIST report] on details surrounding Calipari's death. A US investigation [JURIST report] into the incident cleared US soldiers of any wrongdoing but an initial Italian probe [JURIST report], while concluding the killing was accidental, found that there were serious miscommunications among US officials in Iraq and confusion about the rules of engagement for checkpoints. Italy's independent prosecutors refused to agree with the Ministry of Defence that the shooting was accidental.

Calipari's widow, now a member of the Italian Senate [official site, in Italian], said she was satisfied with the decision to prosecute Lozano. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The government of Canada [JURIST news archive] ordered an official inquiry [press release] Tuesday into whether detainees in Afghanistan [JURIST news archives] were abused while in Canadian custody. The probe began following a civilian complaint filed by Amir Attaran [profile], a University of Ottawa law professor, whose research [Globe and Mail report] uncovered a pattern of suspicious injuries on three detainees captured last April and later released. Military police have also launched a search for the three Afghans.

Chief of the Defense Staff General Rick Hillier [official profile] and Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor [official profile] have already announced two separate probes [press release]. A third "public interest investigation" may also be launched. Canadian lawmakers made assurances that all findings will be made public and damaging information would not be concealed. Officials have denied all similarity to a situation where military investigators covered up instances of detainee abuse in Somalia [CBC backgrounder] more than ten years ago, a scandal that resulted in the disbanding of the elite Canadian Airborne Regiment [Wikipedia backgrounder]. Canada's Globe and Mail has local coverage.

[JURIST] Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul [official profile] said Wednesday that a proposed resolution [text, PDF] by the US Congress condemning the mass killings [BBC backgrounder] of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1917 as "genocide" would damage US-Turkish relations. Turkey has maintained that the deaths do not amount to genocide [JURIST comment] and has recently objected to similiar legislation or proposed legislation in Argentina and France [JURIST reports].

Gul met with State Department [official website] officials on Tuesday, saying that the House resolution may threaten Turkey's cooperation with the US on issues such as Iraq. The Bush Administration has promised to work with Congress to avoid the resolution. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Croatian freelance journalist was found guilty [judgment summary; press release] Wednesday of contempt of court by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website; JURIST news archive] for publishing the names of two witnesses on his website that were under a protective court order. Domagoj Margetic was sentenced to jail for three months and fined 10,000 euros. AP has more.

Margetic was charged [JURIST report] with publishing the names of witnesses who testified in the trial of Tihomir Blaskic [ICTY case backgrounder], a former Croatian militia commander in Bosnia who was convicted [judgment text] in 2000 of crimes against humanity, war crimes and other charges. Margetic allegedly obtained the names from prosecutors as a defendant in a previous contempt case [indictment] that was withdrawn [decision, PDF] in June. Margetic pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to the charges in October.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced Tuesday that the three oil drilling companies charged with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [materials; DOJ backgrounder] have agreed to a plea agreement settling the case for $26 million. The DOJ alleged that Vetco Gray UK Limited, Vetco Gray Controls Inc., and Vetco Gray Controls Limited paid Nigerian government officials $2.1 million in order to obtain expedited clearance through customs. According to a DOJ press release, the defendants authorized a major international freight forwarding and customs clearing company to make at least 378 payments, totaling approximately $2.1 million, to Nigerian Customs Service officials for preferential treatment. The plea agreement also requires the Vetco Gray affiliates to hire an independent watchdog to monitor FCPA compliance and to investigate operations in other countries.

The settlement marks the largest fine ever paid under the FCPA. In 2004, Vetco Gray UK Limited settled FCPA charges for bribing Nigerian officials for insider information on oil and gas contracts. AP has more. The Houston Chronicle has local coverage.

[JURIST] Thirty-eight US states and Samsung Electronics [corporate website] agreed Tuesday to a $90 million settlement, pending court approval, to resolve allegations that Samsung fixed prices and engaged in other anticompetitive activities in the market for DRAM memory chips for computers. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who coordinated the suit, said in a press release [text] that the settlement terms "require the company to refrain from conduct that could substantially lessen competition and to cooperate with the states in prosecuting co-conspirators." New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said in his press release [text] that Samsung agreed to assist states in litigating against other DRAM chip manufacturers that participated in the "price-fixing conspiracy." New York State filed suit [complaint PDF; press release] against eight DRAM manufacturers in July 2006.

The civil suits against Samsung and other DRAM manufacturers came after the US Justice Department filed criminal charges against many DRAM manufacturers, alleging an illegal conspiracy to drive up chip prices. In October 2005, Samsung pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to the charges and paid a $300 million fine; three other companies and twelve corporate executives, including three Samsung officers [JURIST report] also pleaded guilty in March 2006. CNET has more.

NEW ON JURIST  Op-ed: Rising Sun? Amending the 'Pacifist' Japanese Constitution

[JURIST] Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [JURIST news archive] on Wednesday condemned new charges [MBK statement; JURIST report] brought against him by the Russian government earlier this week, calling the indictment "absurd and ungrounded." Prosecutors charged Khodorkovsky and business associate Platon Lebedev with money laundering and embezzlement based on allegations that Khodorkovsky used his Open Russia Foundation [SourceWatch backgrounder] to funnel oil revenues away from oil company Yukos. If convicted on the new charges, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev could serve up to fifteen more years in prison. Khodorkovsky is eligible for parole for time served later this year following his May 2005 conviction for tax evasion [JURIST report], for which he received an eight-year prison sentence.

In a statement [text] posted on his defense website, Khodorkovsky said:

The next things that will happen are absolutely obvious to us: false and fraudulent evidence, statements by frightened or misled pseudo-witnesses, and most likely a guilty verdict. It is a shameful farce that has nothing to do with the rule of law.

The reason why all this is being done is also quite obvious. The people who invented the "Khodorkovsky case" in order to steal Yukos, the most prosperous company in Russia, are very much afraid to see me set free and want to insure themselves against the possibility of my conditional release....

They still have a potential exit strategy though, along with the opportunity to save their position and secure long-term guarantees. Their only chance is the timely and voluntary transfer of power in Russia by the means of honest, fair and transparent elections, in which the new president of our country will be elected. This new person should have nothing in common with the giant corruption machine that has paralyzed Russia, and this person should display a respect toward judicial independence....

A priori false accusations ordered by political authorities are easily stamped by investigators and signed off by the court. And the current ruling elite and power bears no shame. The court, a subservient instrument of the vertical of power, will of course deliver a guilty verdict...

[JURIST] The UN signed an agreement Tuesday to create an international tribunal [JURIST news archive] to try suspects accused of assassinating former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [official website] in February 2005. The agreement must now be ratified by the Lebanese parliament [Wikipedia backgrounder]. Nabih Berri [official profile], the pro-Syrian speaker of parliament, opposes the Hariri tribunal and has refused to convene parliament, thus avoiding a vote on the agreement.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Saniora [BBC profile] forwarded a signed copy of the agreement to the UN last week, but pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud [official profile] has said Saniora's actions violate the Lebanese constitution [AP report]. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Lahoud said that the proposal had been signed by the director-general of the Ministry of Justice and that a letter from Saniora forwarding the signed proposal back to the UN "sidestepped reality and the rules of the constitution, conventions and national unity." In a statement [text] Tuesday, Ban's spokesperson said:

It is up to the competent Lebanese authorities to take the steps necessary under the Lebanese Constitution for the approval and ratification of the Agreement, to allow it to enter into force. The Tribunal could then be made operational with the full support of the United Nations.

[JURIST] Opening arguments were heard on Wednesday in a defamation action brought by the Paris Mosque [Mosque website, in French] and the Union of Islamic Organizations of France [advocacy website, in French] against Charlie-Hebdo magazine and director Philippe Val for last year's republication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad [JURIST news archive] originally published in a Danish newspaper in September 2005. The lawsuit [JURIST report] alleges that by republishing the cartoons, the magazine slandered "a group of people because of their religion." If found guilty, Val and the magazine could face up to six months in prison and fines up to $28,000 under the French legal system which allows criminal sanctions in certain civil defamation actions [Taylor Wessig backgrounder, PDF]. The Muslim organizations had sought to prevent the cartoons' publication [JURIST report], but a French court refused to hear the lawsuit on procedural grounds.

In October, a Danish court dismissed a lawsuit [JURIST report] filed by Muslim organizations against the editors of the Danish newspaper who first published the caricatures. The editor of the Indonesian online newspaper Rakyat Merdeka will face trial [JURIST report] sometime this year for publishing the cartoons on its website. AP has more.

[JURIST] Apple Inc. [corporate website] CEO Steve Jobs called on four of the largest record companies who distribute their music through iTunes to allow Apple to sell music without anti-piracy protection in an letter placed on Apple's website Tuesday. Jobs presented a series of "alternatives" for the future of digital music sold through Apple, and encouraged record companies to abandon the use of anti-piracy measures, known as digital rights management (DRM) [Wikipedia backgrounder], saying "DRMs haven't worked, and may never work, to halt music piracy." Jobs said that the overhead required by the use of DRM may be preventing some companies from using it, writing that "if such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players."

The removal of DRM would also help to ease the pressure Apple has felt from many European countries who have brought lawsuits against Apple alleging that DRM systems have prevented consumers from being able to listen to iTunes-downloaded music on other media players, and have therefore stifled competition. In 2005, a French consumer group sued both Apple and Sony alleging that the companies limit consumer choice [JURIST report] by preventing downloaded songs from being played on other media players. Last summer, France enacted copyright legislation [legislative materials, in French; JURIST report] allowing French regulators to force Apple to make its iPod player compatible with songs downloaded from other Internet music stores, and downloads from its iTunes service compatible with other players. The New York Times has more.