[JURIST] The United States currently holds some 18,000 detainees [JURIST news archive] in two US-run Iraqi detention facilities, Camp Bucca and Camp Cropper [Wikipedia backgrounders], the Washington Post reported Sunday, citing US military sources. In the past month, the US has increased security in Baghdad, leading to an additional 1,000 arrests. The detainees are considered "enemy combatants", similar to the detainees at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], and are typically held for about a year. Some 8,000 of the current detainees have nonetheless been jailed for longer than a year and around 1,300 have been detained for two years. In 2006, the US military held fewer than 10,000 Iraqis.

A US unit commander and an army lawyer make the initial decision of whether a Iraqi civilian should be detained or released. The army creates a file for each detainee which contains any evidence that supports the initial belief the person is a threat. Every detainee's case is reviewed by a Magistrate Cell which hands down a decision to the detainee. After a detainee is held for 18 months, the Joint Detention Review Committee, comprised of Iraqis and Americans, determine whether the detention should continue. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Writing Sunday in a Washington Post op-ed [text], US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales denied any impropriety on his part in the firings of eight US Attorneys [JURIST news archive]. Two days before his scheduled Congressional testimony on the firings, Gonzales said he had "nothing to hide":

I know that I did not -- and would not -- ask for the resignation of any U.S. attorney for an improper reason. Furthermore, I have no basis to believe that anyone involved in this process sought the removal of a U.S. attorney for an improper reason.

[JURIST] Elections of governors and state officials in Nigeria [JURIST news report] Saturday were marred by violence and accusations of fraud in what has been called an "experiment" as the nation prepares for next week's presidential election [BBC report]. Newspapers reported as many as 52 casualties in election-related violence, with the official count at 21 deaths and 218 arrests. Saturday's elections are seen as testing the ability of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) [BBC backgrounder] to oversee the election process prior to the April 21 presidential vote, the nation's first transfer of power between popularly elected officials. The PDP is currently in power in 28 of Nigeria's 36 states. Besides violence at the polls, there were nationwide reports of police intimidation and ballot stuffing. A spokesperson from the opposition Action Congress [INEC profile] group reported "massive irregularities and fraud" and said soldiers and police were employed to "cart away ballot boxes and rig in favour of the PDP." State officials, including Independent Nigerian Electoral Commission (INEC) [official website] Chairman Maurice Iwu, said the problems were relatively isolated and called the vote "a very good first effort." Partial results [AP report] released Sunday evening showed 10 of 12 states counted going to the PDP, with a 90% voter turnout.

In February officials announced the creation of an election tribunal [JURIST report] to preside over disputes and complaints arising from the nation's general elections. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage.

[JURIST] A overwhelming majority of referendum voters in Ecuador [JURIST news archive] Sunday appear to have approved the convening of a constitutional assembly to rewrite that nation's constitution [text, in Spanish], according to a Cedatos-Gallup exit poll. A plan initiated by President Rafael Correa [official website, in Spanish; BBC profile] to limit the power of an allegedly corrupt Congress [official government website] is estimated to have passed with 78.1% of the vote, with polls set to close at 2200 GMT. The win would create a constitutional assembly charged with instituting reforms to restrain powerful political parties [JURIST report], increase government accountability, and hold regional, rather than national, elections. Critics fear that Correa will use the assembly to expand presidential power. Correa has said he would consider resigning if the reforms did not pass by a convincing majority. If passed, an election for members of the assembly will likely be held in September. Reuters has more.

The referendum was approved by Congress [JURIST report] in February. Controversy broke out when Correa and the unicameral Congress submitted differing versions of a referendum; the Supreme Electoral Tribunal [official website, in Spanish] accepted Correa's version, which permitted the constitutional assembly to retroactively fire legislators. In turn, 57 legislators voted to dismiss four of the tribunal members, prompting the tribunal to fire the 57 for illegally interfering with their decision. A rejected appeal [JURIST report] led to violence between the fired lawmakers and police. Earlier this month Ecuador's Constitutional Tribunal [official website, in Spanish] upheld the decision [JURIST report] to dismiss the lawmakers.

[JURIST] Russian police arrested dozens of protesters Sunday before and during a rally in St. Petersburg opposing the policies of Russian president Vladimir Putin for a second straight day. The arrests followed the detention of some 200 anti-Putin protesters [JURIST report] - including liberal United Civil Front [party website, in Russian] leader and former chess champion Garry Kasparov [official website, in Russian] - at a similar rally in Moscow on Saturday. Kasparov was fined and released late Saturday night, but did not make the trip to St. Petersburg. More than 9,000 police agents were dispatched to prevent the protest there.

The majority of the detentions Sunday were sparked by marchers attempting to break through a massed line of police resistance as the rally ended. As police infiltrated the crowds of protesters, the crowds struck back with bottles and stones. Olga Kurnosova, the St. Petersburg leader of the United Civil Front, was arrested at her home for a traffic violation on her way to attend the rally. The Washington Post has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation [official website, in Russian] Friday banned the Social Democratic Party of Russia [party website, in Russian] for failure to follow regulations. The Court upheld a judgment in favor of the Russian Registration Service [official website, in Russian], which had sued the party for failure to establish 500-member local offices in at least 45 Russian [JURIST news archive] regions and for failure to become a public organization by the start of this year. Party leader Vladimir Kishenin denied the charges, saying that offices had been established in 47 regions. Kishenin called the move "purely political" and announced plans to appeal the decision.

The Social Democratic Party was created in the pre-Bolshevik Russia in 1898 and revived in 2002 by former USSR president Mikhail Gorbachev [official website; CNN profile], making it Russia's oldest political party. The Russian Supreme Court has upheld similar bans stemming from Registration Services challenges to political parties, dissolving the Republican Party of Russia, the Russia Peace Party [JURIST reports] and the Freedom and Rule of the People Party earlier this year; considerations of bans against three other parties are pending. MosNews has more.