[JURIST] Zimbabwean police Tuesday broke up a rally of about 50 lawyers who had gathered to protest the the arrest and imprisonment of two human rights lawyers, assaulting some attendees with rubber batons, according to a witness. Alec Muchadehama and Andrew Makoni, who represent opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) [party website] leader Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile], were arrested Friday, prompting the Zimbabwe Law Society to call for the demonstration. The lawyers were later released on bail. The government has declared a three month ban on rallies [JURIST report], but the protesting lawyers said they were exempt under the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) [text]. Critics say the police reaction is symptomatic of the increasing violence of President Robert Mugabe's regime. Reuters has more.

Mugabe has been accused of widespread human rights abuses at home and abroad. Police banned anti-government protests after a political rally by the MDC led to confrontations between police and protesters around the country. Political tensions have run high in Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive] especially since Mugabe announced in December that he planned to extend his presidency from 2008 to 2010 to correspond with parliamentary elections. Since March, opposition candidate Tsvangirai has been arrested [JURIST report] several times, on what supporters say are trumped-up charges, and allegedly beaten [JURIST report] in police custody.

[JURIST] The Parliament of Pakistan [official website] Tuesday rejected a proposal to soften the country's strict blasphemy laws [text] that impose death or life imprisonment for insults to the Prophet Mohammed. Minno Bhandara, a Christian lawmaker in the National Assembly, had introduced a motion to bring the law more into line with punishments prescribed for insulting other minority religions. The ruling Pakistani Muslim League [party website] as well as opposition lawmakers vigorously opposed the idea. DPA has more.

Some had hoped that the blasphemy laws, which human rights groups criticize as easily subject to abuse, might be revisited in light of President Pervez Musharraf's stated policies of "enlightened moderation" [Washington Post report].

[JURIST] The Pakistan Supreme Court [official website] Tuesday created a panel of judges to hear a legal challenge [PDF petition] by suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive] to the proceedings against him for alleged misconduct. Pakistan's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) [governing constitutional provisions] had been conducting an inquiry into Chaudhry's alleged misconduct, but Chaudhry appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the SJC lacked competence to try him. The investigation was suspended [JURIST report] Monday, pending a resolution to the appeal. Acting Chief Justice Rana Bhagwandas Tuesday assembled a roster that included most of the 19 judges on the Supreme Court to hear Chaudhry's challenge.

Chaudhry was technically made "non-functional" [JURIST report] by a March 9 order of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. No specifics were provided at the time of his suspension but documents subsequently disclosed [JURIST report] suggest he was officially removed on suspicion of misusing his influence to get his son jobs and promotions. Lawyers and opposition leaders critical of the move say, however, that the suspension was an assault on the independence of the country's judiciary and an indirect bid by Musharraf to continue his eight-year rule in an election year. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A New York appeals court Tuesday dismissed [text] four of six claims against former New York Stock Exchange chairman Richard Grasso [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], finding they were not within the New York attorney general's authority to bring. Grasso was forced out of the stock exchange in 2003 following a public outcry over his $187.5 million compensation package. For 3 years, Grasso fought [JURIST report] then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer over Grasso's controversial $187.5 million dollar compensation arrangement. Spitzer contended [PDF complaint] that the amount was unreasonably high and violated state non-profit law. Grasso countered that his fellow directors were aware of his pay and approved it. New state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo [official profile] has vowed to continue pursuing the case.

In October, the New York State Supreme Court ordered [JURIST report] Grasso to pay back a major portion of the compensation paid to him while he held that position between 1995 and 2003. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A US Marine legal adviser charged with failure to properly report and investigate the killings of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive] appeared before a military panel Tuesday that will decide whether the charges should go to court-martial. Capt. Randy W. Stone, formerly of the 3rd Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, stands accused of dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order to investigate the incident; three other officers are charged with similar offenses. Stone's civilian attorney, Charles Gittins, said Stone did nothing wrong because he reported the facts to his superiors and that he was not required to ensure that they followed up on the information. Platoon commander Lt. William Kallop testified that he thought that in the circumstances the Marines involved in the incident did nothing wrong and acted within lawful rules of engagement. The San Diego Tribune-Review has more.

The Haditha investigation has culminated in the largest US military prosecution involving civilian deaths during the war in Iraq. Iraqi witnesses claim that Marines led by Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich [advocacy website] shot into the homes of civilians after a fellow Marine was killed by a roadside bomb. Wuterich, who faces thirteen charges of unpremeditated murder, has maintained that his unit followed the rules of engagement [JURIST report] and did not purposefully attack civilians. Last month, charges against Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz were dropped [JURIST report] in exchange for his testimony against other marines involved. A report by US Army Major General Eldon Bargewell subsequently found "serious misconduct" [JURIST report] on all levels of the US Marine Corps chain of command.

[JURIST] The US Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Monday sent a letter to a former federal prosecutor, asking him to speak with investigators looking into the recent US Attorney firing scandal [JURIST news archive] and a possible link to voter fraud prosecutions. The Committee seeks to question former US Attorney Bradley Schlozman [official profile], now with the Executive Office for United States Attorneys [official website], about whether former US Attorney Todd Graves [professional profile] of Kansas City, Missouri, was fired when he refused to endorse a 2005 voter fraud lawsuit Schlozman filed against the state. Schlozman replaced Graves as interim US attorney when Graves resigned in 2006. In a letter to Schlozman co-signed by Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, Chairman Patrick Leahy asked Schlozman to speak with the Committee and turn over documents, saying:

The committee would benefit from hearing directly from you in order to gain a better understanding of the role voter fraud may have played in the administration's decisions to retain or remove certain US attorneys.

[JURIST] A committee struck to reform Iraq's constitution [JURIST news archive] said Tuesday it planned to have its recommendations ready to go before the Iraqi parliament next week. The 31-member committee, which includes Shiites, Sunni Arabs and ethnic Kurds, must complete its proposals by May 15, according to the Iraqi constitution [PDF]. Parliament must approve any constitutional amendment by an absolute majority before a referendum takes place. Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi [Wikipedia profile] and Sunni leaders have objected to portions of the constitution that might split the country into ethnic enclaves, and have threatened to leave the government if Sunni concerns are not addressed by the deadline.

Iraq's current constitution was ratified in a 2005 referendum [JURIST report]. Shiites and Kurds overwhelmingly supported it, while Sunni Arabs opposed it. Among the controversial articles was that different provinces could break away from the capital to form autonomous federal regions. Sunnis oppose the creation of federal regions in Iraq because it would leave them without access to the country's oil fields, which are located predominately in Kurdish and Shiite-dominated regions. Attempts to pass such measures have been blocked [JURIST report] in the past partly due to Sunni opposition [JURIST report] to the plan. Reuters has more. CNN has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Human rights activist Umida Niyazova received a suspended sentence on Tuesday after reading a confession and expressing regret for "the crimes [she] committed unintentionally." The Uzbek appeals court reduced the seven-year sentence [JURIST report] she received last week after being convicted of illegal border crossing, smuggling, and distributing Islamic extremist propaganda. Niyazova worked for Human Rights Watch [advocacy group] and was arrested earlier this year after returning to Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan. The statement she read in court Tuesday also called HRW's work "biased" and harmful to the Uzbek people.

HRW has said the trial was politically motivated [press release] and has called on the EU "to make the release of rights defenders a necessary precondition for any further easing of sanctions against Uzbekistan." Sanctions were imposed [JURIST report] in November 2005 in response to the Uzbek government's failure to allow an independent investigation into the May 2005 Andijan uprising [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive], during which thousands of demonstrators protesting the trial of 23 businessmen on religious extremism charges stormed a prison [JURIST report], allowing about 2,000 inmates to escape. In response, government troops killed as many as 500 demonstrators [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Six Islamic militants have been arrested [press release, PDF] for allegedly planning an attack on New Jersey military base Fort Dix [official website], the US Attorney for New Jersey said Tuesday. The men, who have been under surveillance for the past 16 months, have been charged with a conspiracy to kill US employees under 18 USC 1114 [text]. The men were arrested while attempting to buy weapons from undercover agents and are scheduled to appear in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey [official website] on Tuesday. The following men are charged:

• Mohamad Ibrahim Shnewer [complaint, PDF];
  
• Dritan Duka [complaint, PDF];
  
• Eljvir Duka [complaint, PDF];
  
• Shain Duka [complaint, PDF];
  
• Serdar Tatar [complaint, PDF]; and
  
• Agron Abdullahu [complaint, PDF].

[JURIST] Canadian Federal Court Judge Richard Mosley refused to require the release of confidential evidence [ruling, PDF; summary, PDF] against alleged terrorist Mohammed Momin Khawaja [CBC backgrounder] on Monday, saying "that disclosure of most of the information would be injurious to national security or to international relations." Mosley told defense lawyers that he will summarize some of the information, but will not force Canadian prosecutors to release the documents.

Khawaja was arrested [JURIST report] in March 2004, and was the first to be charged under Canada's post-September 11 Anti-Terrorism Act [text; CBC backgrounder]. He was identified as a co-conspirator in a UK fertilizer bomb terror plot which resulted late last month in life sentences for five British nationals [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] A New Orleans court suspended the criminal trials of 98 indigent defendants Monday, 20 of whom were released from prison. Judge Arthur Hunter [JURIST news archive] of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court [official website] told the defendants that while the charges are not being dropped, the defendants will not be further prosecuted [AP report] until they are able to retain lawyers. Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan [official profile] said that he will fight the release of the inmates, telling the Times-Picayune that "no one will be released."

Last month, Hunter suspended the prosecutions of 42 indigent criminal defendants [JURIST report] who had not been provided adequate legal counsel. New Orleans' indigent defense program, funded almost entirely from traffic court fines, shrank from over 40 lawyers to six in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive]. State Representative Daniel Martiny (R) (official website), a member of a legislative taskforce on indigent defense, has said he plans to submit a bill that would establish a statewide public defender's board to replace the current system of 41 separate local boards in an effort to standardize the quality of representation provided to criminal defendants in Louisiana. The New Orleans Times-Picayune has local coverage.

[JURIST] The US may attempt to force the establishment of a UN tribunal to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told [AA report, in Arabic] Al Arabiya television Monday. Under Chapter VII of the UN Charter [text], the UN Security Council has the power to "determine the existence of any threat to the peace...[and] make recommendations" on the proper action to be taken. Rice said that the US may back a resolution to establish the tribunal under Chapter VII "because it is extremely important that the court is set up so that Lebanon goes back to normal." According to the State Department transcript of the interview:

SECRETARY RICE: ... when it comes to Lebanon, I would say very directly to everyone that Lebanese democracy, Lebanese sovereignty is critical to the United States. We consider it one of the most important interests that we hold. The tribunal needs to take place. It needs to take place despite the deadlock that is taking place in Lebanon because the perpetrators of the assassination of Rafik Hariri need to be brought to justice. And the Siniora government, the democratically elected government of Lebanon needs to be supportive -- supported and Lebanon and Lebanese can count on the United States to do that.

QUESTION: So there shouldn't be any concerns in Lebanon, that there is going to be some sort of a --

SECRETARY RICE: No, no.

QUESTION: -- an agreement with Syria or that -- a lessening of the American support for the Tribunal even under Chapter 7?

SECRETARY RICE: Absolutely. If we have to do that, then that's what we will do because it's extremely important that this tribunal take place so that Lebanon can turn to normal life.

[JURIST] Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Tuesday that a report from the US Commission on International Religious Freedom [official website] that accused China of imprisoning and torturing people based on their religion was ignorant and prejudiced. In a statement [text, in Chinese] posted on the Foreign Ministry's website, Jiang said that the report was distorted in its attack on Chinese policy, and maintained that China [JURIST news archive] protects its citizens' freedom of religion.

Last week, the Commission released [JURIST report] its annual report on worldwide religious freedom [PDF text]. The report stated that "All religious groups in China face some restrictions, monitoring, and surveillance, however, and religious freedom conditions deteriorated for communities not affiliated with one of the seven government-approved religious organizations." Also last week, Chinese Human Rights Defenders [advocacy website] criticized [JURIST report] the Chinese government for continuing to persecute and intimidate human rights defenders such as lawyers, academics and journalists in a report issued on the anniversary of the 1919 May Fourth Movement [Wikipedia backgrounder]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The twenty-sixth sessions [UNFCCC materials] of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) [official website] opened in Bonn, Germany, on Monday, as hundreds of diplomats gathered to discuss a future compact to replace the Kyoto Protocol [JURIST news archive] when it expires in 2012. Over 160 countries and organizations will meet throughout the next two weeks to begin the development of a new climate control accord. Delegates to the convention say they hope to have such a treaty in place within the next two years in order to help countries move smoothly from Kyoto into the new agreement. Ideas coming from this meeting will be proposed at a larger meeting set to be held in Bali in December, when formal negotiations will take place.

To date, 171 parties have ratified the Kyoto Protocol [UNFCCC backgrounder], which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developed and developing nations. At a meeting of the UNFCCC in late 2005, Kyoto Protocol nations agreed [JURIST report] to extend the life of the agreement beyond 2012. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] has neglected to censure countries committing gross violations of human rights, including Cuba, Saudi Arabia and China, according to a report [PDF text] released Monday by rights watchdog group UN Watch [advocacy website]. The report stated that:

Sadly, despite having some promise on paper, the new Council has not been an improvement over the much-derided Commission. In some ways, it has even been worse. Members are supposed to be elected based on their human rights records, yet the Council includes persistent violators, and after the upcoming elections is expected to include several more.

[JURIST] The two Cuban soldiers who last week killed an army officer while attempting to hijack a plane [Reuters report] to flee the island were encouraged to do so by last month's US release of anti-Castro militant Luis Posada Carriles [JURIST news archive], according to a statement Cuban President Fidel Castro sent to journalists on Monday. Castro warned that the freeing of a "monster of terror" will result in more terrorist actions in Cuba. He wrote that "The impunity and the material benefits that have been rewarded [by the US] for nearly half a century for all violent action against Cuba stimulate such acts."

In April, Carriles was released from a New Mexico jail [JURIST report] after posting bond amidst ongoing debate concerning his release. Carriles is due to be deported for entering the US illegally. A US immigration judge delayed his deportation in 2005 [JURIST report], after having determined that Carriles cannot be sent to Venezuela, where he is a naturalized citizen, or to Cuba, the country of his birth, for fears that he would be tortured. Carriles is accused of orchestrating the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner [Wikipedia backgrounder], as well as numerous assassination attempts on Cuban President Fidel Castro, and has previously sought asylum in the US. A lawyer representing the Venezuelan government has accused the US of preventing Carriles' extradition [JURIST report] and obstructing justice. Castro issued a statement last month condemning [JURIST report] the US court's decision to release Carriles on bail. Carriles is wanted in both countries on terrorism charges. AP has more.