[JURIST] Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev [official website; BBC profile] Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment removing term limits on his own presidency. The measure, which only applies to Nazarbayev, was proposed by the president last week and was approved [JURIST report] by a large majority of the Kazakh parliament [official website] on Friday. Under the amendment, subsequent presidents will have to abide by the law limiting them to two terms in office. The amendment also reduced presidential terms from 7 years to 5.

Nazarbayev has been in power since 1989, but Kazakhstan has never had elections considered fair and free by Western monitors. He was last elected [BBC report] in December 2005 with 91 percent of the vote, but international observers raised concerns of fraud [JURIST report]. Opposition parties unsuccessfully challenged the results [JURIST report]. Prior to the amendment, Nazarbayev would have been barred from seeking re-election upon his current term's expiration in 2012. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Philippines' Commission on Elections (COMELEC) [official website] Tuesday stopped the counting of last week's votes for congressional candidates [JURIST report] in the southern province of Maguindanao to investigate allegations of fraud. Early reports of voter intimidation and vote-rigging have emerged across the country; in Maguindanao, an independent watchdog group complained that it was blocked from monitoring the voting process and others complained of ballot-stuffing in favor of pro-administration Senate candidates. In response, COMELEC halted official canvassing until Friday. A spokesman for Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo [official website; JURIST news archive] said that the move is based on an uncorroborated claim [press release] and violates the due process rights of Maguindanao's 300,000 voters. Early results showed pro-administration candidates winning all 12 Senate seats. AP has more.

Government authorities have attributed the death of 116 people, including 11 candidates, to election violence directed towards candidates and voters alike since the election campaigning season began on January 14. The Philippine National Police established special Task Forces [press release] to increase police presence in 32 of 81 provinces that were threatened by "serious armed threats," which the government attributed to communist militants from the Communist Party of Philippines (CPP), New People's Army (NPA) [Wikipedia backgrounders], and "other lawless elements." Despite the violence, a representative from the national police characterized the election process as "proceeding smoothly." Elections in the Philippines are routinely plagued by violence, allegations of vote buying and balloting fraud; in 2006, Macapagal-Arroyo was accused of vote rigging [JURIST report], bribery, graft, corruption, human rights abuses and constitutional violations.

[JURIST] Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko [official website; JURIST news archive] asked a lower court in Kiev Tuesday to block the Constitutional Court of Ukraine [official website, in Ukrainian] from ruling on his April 2 decree dissolving parliament [text; JURIST report] by challenging the court's actions and alleging corruption [press release]. This follows his rejection of the Constitutional Court's authority [JURIST report] last week after the court appointed Valeri Pshenischny as new chief justice. Yushchenko had previously dismissed Pshenischny from the court [JURIST report].

Pshenischny was named to the presidency of the Constitutional Court following the resignation [JURIST report] of former Chief Justice Ivan Dombrovsky last week. In April, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yiktor Yanukovych [BBC profile] and leaders of Parliament filed a legal challenge to Yushchenko's dissoluton [JURIST report], leading to the present court battle. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] held hearings [press release] Tuesday on California's request for a waiver of preemption for its greenhouse gas emission standards for new cars. The standards would require car manufacturers to cut emissions by 25 percent from cars and light trucks, and 18 percent from SUVs, starting with the 2009 model year. California's Air Resources Board [official website] adopted the greenhouse gas standards in 2004 [press release], but it cannot mandate them unless the EPA grants a waiver of the lighter Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) [text] standards. California is the only state permitted to seek a waiver under the CAA, but if granted, other states have the option of choosing between the federal standards and those of California. At least 11 states have indicated that they would follow the California standard.

Many auto manufacturers, represented by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers [advocacy website], are opposed to the stricter standards [text of hearing testimony], arguing that by regulating the emissions standards of automobiles, California is in effect regulating fuel economy standards, which can only be regulated by the federal government. The auto industry is also suing California [JURIST report] to block the standards from going into effect. Additional EPA hearings will be held May 30. AP has more.

[JURIST] Thousands of farmers in southwestern China reportedly rioted over the weekend due to efforts by local government officials to more strictly enforce China's "One Child Policy" [backgrounder]. A local resident told AP said that the government had imposed fines of over 10,000 yuan ($1,300 USD) on families that had too many children. Hong Kong-based Ming Pao daily reported that government officials had been ordered to collect 500 yuan ($65 USD) from families that had violated the "One Child Policy," and that family homes would be demolished and property seized if the the fines were not paid within three days.

The riot, which allegedly left fires and damaged cars at the Shabi local township government office, occurred in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region [official website, in Chinese], which is inhabited a large percentage of Zhuang and Miao ethnic minority groups. China's "One Child Policy" customarily allows non-Han minorities to have up to two children in urban areas and up to four in rural farming communities. BBC News has more. AP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Lawyers for former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] Tuesday threatened to bring a lawsuit against a committee investigating Thaksin's alleged corruption if it releases details of a report into a controversial land purchase [Wikipedia backgrounder]. Thaksin's lawyers believe that the release of the information would prejudice any case against Thaksin. Subcommittee chairman Udom Fuangfung had planned to release the information to demonstrate that the committee had not harassed those under investigation. Udom said he believes the group has a right to reveal the contents of the investigation file, saying nothing in the file would be prejudicial.

Thaksin himself was out of the country when the Thai military launched a bloodless coup [JURIST report] which removed him from power late last year. He remains abroad out of fears for his safety and what he describes as concerns for the stability of Thailand if he returns. Last week, Thaksin's wife pleaded not guilty to charges of tax evasion [JURIST report]. Thailand's The Nation has more.

[JURIST] Chung Mong-koo [Forbes profile], chairman of Hyundai Motors Group [corporate website], pressed an appeal of his February 5 conviction [JURIST report] for embezzlement and bribery Tuesday by submitting a written "pledge" to the Seoul High Court, hoping to obtain leniency by honoring an earlier promise to donate shares valued at one trillion won ($1.07 billion USD) to charity over a period of seven years. Chung was sentenced to a three-year prison term.

Chung was arrested last April with two lobbyists who were accused of taking bribes from Hyundai in exchange for helping the company win construction permits and other business favors from the South Korean government. Prosecutors have also investigated Chung's son, Kia Motors [corporate website] President Chung Eui-sun, but he has not been arrested or charged. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Members of the committee responsible for developing reforms to Iraq's constitution [JURIST news archive] said Tuesday that, after six months of negotiations, they have been unable to reach any sort of agreement. The panel made up of Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds had promised [JURIST report] to present Iraq's parliament by May 15 a set of proposed amendments aimed at being more inclusive of Sunni Arabs and encompassing refinements urged by other groups. Kurd leaders had opposed terminology in the original document declaring an Arab identity for Iraq, and Sunnis had objected to federalist language.

Iraq's current constitution [PDF text] was ratified by a Shiite and Kurd majority in a 2005 referendum [JURIST report]. Sunnis have in the past blocked [JURIST report] attempts to pass federalist legislation. Committee members believe that political leaders will have to negotiate such sensitive issues. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Moroccan police arrested three leading human rights activists and attempted to arrest three others in the disputed Western Sahara [UNHCR backgrounder; pro-independence backgrounder; pro-Morocco backgrounder] region Sunday amid a crackdown before scheduled talks with pro-independence factions next month. Brahim Dahane, president of the Saharawi Association for Human Rights Victims [advocacy website, in French], said that two members of his organization and another activist from another human rights organization were detained by police without cause. Dahane also accused Moroccan police of trying to arrest three other human rights activists.

Morocco [JURIST news archive; AI backgrounder] has occupied Western Sahara since 1975, but the occupation is not recognized by the United States, the European Union, or the UN. In 1991, a UN settlement plan [Wikipedia backgrounder] arbitrated between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front [Wikipedia backgrounder] established a cease-fire. Both sides agreed to an independence referendum [MINURSO official website], which has not yet been held. Subsequent talks have failed to produce tangible agreements. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Manhattan federal jury Monday convicted [press release] Dr. Rafik Abdus Sabir, a US citizen with a medical practice based in Florida, of conspiracy to provide material support to al Qaeda and attempting to provide that support. Sabir was arrested and charged [JURIST report] in May 2005 following several meetings with an undercover FBI agent posing as an al Qaeda recruiter, during which Sabir pledged his loyalty to al Qaeda and agreed to provide medical assistance to wounded terrorists in Saudi Arabia. Sabir's sentencing is scheduled for September 12. He faces up to 30 years in prison.

Tarik Shah [JURIST report], another defendant who had agreed to teach hand-to-hand combat to al Qaeda members, pleaded guilty before trial to providing material support to a terrorist organization and agreed to serve 15 years. Two other defendants, a Brooklyn bookstore owner and a Washington DC taxi driver, have pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 13 and 15 years in prison respectively. AP has more.

[JURIST] A lawyer for former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks [JURIST news archive] said Monday that Hicks does not plan to challenge the legality of any control order [JURIST news archive] imposed after his release from prison in Australia. David McLeod said that Hicks is grateful for efforts made to secure his return to Australia and doesn't want to be seen as being difficult. Australia's Anti-Terrorism Act (No.2) 2005 [ANS backgrounder] allows the "overt close monitoring of terrorist suspects who pose a risk to the community." In April, the Australian government said that the Federal Police will determine whether Hicks will face a control order [JURIST report] following his release, currently scheduled for December 29.

Hicks was transferred to Australia [JURIST report] Sunday to serve the remainder of his nine-month prison sentence at a maximum security prison near his hometown of Adelaide, South Australia. Hicks, who spent more than five years in US custody since being captured in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to a charge of supporting terrorism [JURIST reports] in March. Under the plea agreement [text], Hicks was required to state that he "has never been illegally treated" while held as an enemy combatant by the United States and that his detention was lawful pursuant the laws of armed conflict. He also agreed not to take any legal action against the United States for his treatment during his five-year detention. The plea agreement includes provisions limiting Hicks' contact with the media. The Australian attorney general has said the gag order cannot be enforced, but Hicks' lawyer has said that Hicks will not violate the gag order [JURIST reports] because he is not interested in speaking to the media. AP has more. News.com.au has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The California Court of Appeal, Third Appellate District [official website] has ruled that the state may continue to transfer prisoners out-of-state [JURIST report] while litigation proceeds over the challenged program to deal with California's prison overcrowding [JURIST news archive]. The state has appealed a Sacramento County Superior Court ruling against the program [JURIST report], which began out-of-state transfers in November. Currently, 360 inmates have been voluntarily moved to out-of-state facilities, but state officials say that they intend to move up to 5,000 prisoners by year's end. The appellate court's decision was handed down Friday, but not announced until Monday.

Earlier this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger [official website] signed off on a $7.7 billion program to construct facilities [JURIST report] to provide 53,000 new prison and jail beds over the next five years. In February, Schwarzenegger announced a plan to release prisoners convicted of nonviolent crimes [JURIST report] in response to various federal actions that could establish federal oversight of California's prison system [JURIST report] if the overcrowding problem is not resolved. AP has more. The Los Angeles Times has local coverage.

[JURIST] The UN Committee Against Torture [official website] Monday urged Poland to disclose details [observations, DOC text] regarding a parliamentary investigation into the presence of secret CIA prisons [JURIST report] in the country on Monday, expressing concern that Poland [JURIST news archive] participated in running terrorist suspect prisons in the country. Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski [official profile] said that the government regarded the allegations as a "closed issue" when questioned about the committee's request for more information. The committee said that while it recognizes the government's refutation of Polish participation in the prisons, it needs more information from the confidential inquiry conducted by the Polish parliament.

In February, the European Parliament condemned member states [JURIST report] - including Poland - for cooperating with the CIA's rendition program. In December 2005 Human Rights Watch claimed that Poland was the location of the main secret CIA prison facility in Europe; then-Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz ordered an investigation into the report which was later dropped [JURIST reports]. European Parliament lawmakers later accused Poland of obstructing their own investigation [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Police in Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive] are refusing to comply with a High Court ruling requiring police officials to vacate Portwe farm in the Matabeleland North province, which was seized by police in March. High Court Judge Francis Bere ruled [ZI report] last week that the police seizure was illegal and issued an order requiring the police to return control of the farm to its owners, along with any materials confiscated from the property. Police, however, have refused to comply with the order and instead on Monday stationed more officers on the farm and responded that the farm was the property of the police precinct. The owners of the farm told reporters that their lawyers were preparing a contempt of court lawsuit against the police. While police have seized white-owned farms previously for reassignment to black Zimbabwean farmers, this is the first time that police officials have laid claim to a farm for themselves.

Police officials have routinely ignored court orders and critics have alleged that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile] has given tacit approval to their actions as part of his program of white-owned farm seizures. ZimOnline has more.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] will review allegations of rape and other violence [press release; ICC backgrounder] committed in the Central African Republic (CAR), ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] said Tuesday. According to Moreno-Ocampo, reports detailing hundreds of rape victims "calling for justice" have been turned over to the Prosecutor's Office, which will now conduct its own investigation. Moreno-Ocampo said that "We believe that grave crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the Court were committed in the Central African Republic. We will conduct our own independent investigation, gather evidence, and prosecute the individuals who are most responsible."

The probe will focus on events that occurred between 2002 and 2003 during a violent conflict between rebel forces and the government, but will also keep watch on current events in the country. The ICC first began monitoring the nation in 2005 after the CAR government and Cour de Cassation requested that the ICC do so. AP has more.

[JURIST] Twenty-one men on trial for assorted crimes under anti-terror laws in Mauritania [government website, in Arabic] accused police officials Monday of using torture to extract confessions. All 21 of the suspects are charged with belonging to the "non-authorized organization" Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) [FAS backgrounder], a known wing of the al Qaeda organization, and several of the suspects have also been charged with participation in terrorist attacks in Mauritania. At the opening hearing of the trial Monday, Mohamed Mahfoudh Ould Idoumou, a key suspect and alleged leader of the GSPC cell, claimed that police had used torture to obtain confessions from the suspects that remain in prison.

The trial has been delayed for several months by military leaders of the 2005 coup in Mauritania [JURIST report], who cited a need for a comprehensive interim government before allowing the trial to continue. AFP has more.

[JURIST] President Bush said Monday that he still fully supports US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [JURIST news archive] despite the growing number of Republicans who have expressed concern over the firings of nine federal prosecutors [JURIST news archive], telling reporters at a press conference [transcript] on the Bush Ranch that "He has got my confidence. He has done nothing wrong...I stand by Al Gonzales." Last week, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said that the administration considers the proposed Senate vote of no-confidence in Gonzales a political stunt [JURIST reports]. AP has more.

Last Week, US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) predicted that Gonzales would resign soon [JURIST report] as a result of the US Attorney firings, and said over the weekend that he believed the resignation would come before the no-confidence vote [JURIST report]. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has also called for Gonzales' resignation [JURIST report] after hearing testimony [transcript, PDF; JURIST report] from former US Deputy Attorney General James Comey regarding an attempt by Gonzales to persuade former Attorney General John Ashcroft to authorize the warrantless domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive] while he was incapacitated in the hospital, critically ill with pancreatitis. Although the event did not relate to the US Attorney firings, Hagel said that it showed Gonzales lacked the "moral authority to lead" the DOJ.

[JURIST] The British Crown Prosecution Service (CRS) [official website] said Tuesday that there is sufficient evidence to charge [press release] Russian businessman Andrei Lugovoi with murder in the poisoning death of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko [BBC profile; BBC timeline]. British prosecutors are seeking Lugovoi's arrest and extradition, and a high-level deputy of British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett [official profile] summoned Russian Ambassador Yury Fedotov Tuesday to seek Russian cooperation. A spokesperson for the Russian Prosecutor-General's office speaking on state-owned NTV Russia, however, said that Russian citizens can't be handed over to foreign states, though if presented with evidence, prosecutors could pursue the case in Russia.

Litvinenko and Lugovoi, both former employees of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB), met on November 1, 2006, hours before Litvinenko fell ill to radioactive poisoning from polonium-210 [CDC backgrounder]. Britain and Russia are parties to the European Convention on Extradition 1956 [text] and the CPS and Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Co-operation [text]. The request for Lugovoi's extradition comes during increasingly tense relations between the United Kingdom and Russia [JURIST news archives]. In April, a Russian lawmaker repeated calls for the United Kingdom to end its political asylum to Russian billionaire and alleged coup plotter Boris Berezovsky [JURIST news archive]. The UK has resisted Russian efforts to extradite Berezovsky. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leaders in the US Senate said Monday that a final vote on an immigration reform agreement [JURIST report] reached last week will be delayed until June due to opposition [JURIST report] from both sides in Congress. Some Republican senators have derided the latest immigration reform [JURIST news archive] plan as amounting to "amnesty" for up to 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in the United States and would like to see a tougher proposal on undocumented immigrants seeking legal status, by either increasing fines or requiring the immigrants to return to their native country before applying for citizenship. Democratic objections to the proposal have focused on the restrictions on the right of legal immigrants to be joined by their families and its preference for high-tech workers and employability over familial ties. Lawmakers from both aisles have also criticized the temporary worker visa program, which will annually provide at least 400,000 guest worker visas, as too large.

If approved, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 [S 1348 summary], characterized by President Bush as "secure, productive, orderly, and fair" [statement], will give undocumented immigrants the opportunity to obtain a probationary card allowing them to live and work legally in the United States, but which would not place them on the road to permanent residency or citizenship. Critics of the measure say that it threatens to create a permanent underclass of low-income low-skill jobs that are denied the opportunity to establish roots in the United States. Senate leaders had initially hoped to hold a final vote on the legislation before Memorial Day, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Monday that attempting to finish the bill by the end of the week would not be in the Senate's best interests. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas (ACLU-Texas) [advocacy websites] won a temporary restraining order [PDF text; MALDEF press release] from the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas Monday, blocking the enforcement of an anti-illegal immigration city ordinance [DOC text] that was scheduled to take effect Tuesday in Farmers Branch, Texas. The MALDEF and ACLU-Texas said that they will continue with their earlier lawsuit [JURIST report] filed on December 26, 2006, on behalf of residents and landlords maintaining that the ordinance violates federal immigration law and violates the fundamental rights of both landlords and tenants.

The ordinance, approved by voters [JURIST report] earlier in May, requires apartment renters to demonstrate proof of US-residency and penalizes landlords who rent to illegal immigrants [JURIST news archive]. Landlords who do not comply with the law face fines up to $500. The ordinance is a revision of an earlier ordinance that was set to take effect in January [JURIST reports]. AP has more.