[JURIST] The jury in the Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive] terrorism conspiracy case heard new wiretap evidence Tuesday suggesting that Padilla's co-defendants supported Osama bin Laden [JURIST news archive]. The prosecution first played a video interview that aired on CNN in 1997, in which bin Laden denounced the United States as "tyrannical." Afterwards, the jurors heard FBI wiretapped conversations recorded shortly after the video originally aired in which defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi [GlobalSecurity profiles] praised bin Laden. US District Judge Marcia Cooke rejected arguments [JURIST report] by defense attorneys earlier this month that the phone conversations were irrelevant and threatened to prejudice the jury. Cooke did instruct the jury to remember there is no connection between the trial at hand and the terroristic acts of September 11, 2001.

Padilla and co-defendants Hassoun and Jayyousi are charged [JURIST report] with being a part of an Islamic fundamentalist terrorist support network and conspiring to murder US nationals. Padilla, a US citizen, was arrested in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and subsequently detained as an "enemy combatant" [JURIST news archive] at a Navy military brig in Charleston, South Carolina. Initially accused of planning to set off a "dirty bomb" in the United States, Padilla went from enemy combatant to criminal defendant when he was finally charged with other offenses in November 2005. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Deputy US Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles [Wikipedia profile] was sentenced to 10 months in prison Tuesday for his role in the Jack Abramoff [JURIST news archive] lobbying scandal. As part of the negotiated plea deal, the Department of Justice recommended he serve five months in prison and the remainder of his sentence under house arrest. US District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, however, expressed continued disappointment with Griles' cooperation before doubling the agreed-upon prison term to 10 months.

Griles pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in March to felony obstruction of justice charges for lying to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee [official website] in 2005 about his relationship with the former lobbyist. Abramoff is serving a six-year prison sentence [JURIST report] on conspiracy and fraud charges stemming from falsification of documents to procure a 2000 loan for Abramoff and his partners to purchase a casino. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee [official website] voted 39-2 Tuesday to endorse a non-binding resolution [H Res 121 text; press statement] asking Japan to formally apologize for enslaving Chinese women during World War II. The bill, drawing strong bipartisan support, now goes to the full US House [official website] for consideration. Thousands of Chinese "comfort women" [Amnesty backgrounder; JURIST news archive] were coerced into prostitution for the Imperial Japanese Army [Wikipedia backgrounder] from 1932 until the end of WWII.

Until recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [official website, in Japanese] and many other government officials denied allegations of forced sexual slavery [JURIST report] in Imperial Japanese Army brothels, stating instead that the women were professional prostitutes paid for their services. Following public outcry, Abe later issued a guarded apology [JURIST report], but stopped short of explicitly acknowledging the role played by the military and the government in facilitating the practice. In March, top Japanese leaders said they would ignore [JURIST report] any US Congressional resolution on the "comfort women." AP has more.

[JURIST] Amnesty International [advocacy website] said Tuesday that humanitarian abuses have become commonplace in the Central African Republic (CAR) [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] as the armed conflict between the government and opposition forces escalates, "virtually unnoticed by the international community." Amnesty researcher Godfrey Byaruhanga said that while international attention is focused on Chad and Darfur [JURIST news archive], the CAR has become a "hunting ground" [press release] for regional armed opposition forces. Byaruhanga also implicated CAR soldiers and police officers, saying that troops have killed civilians accused of colluding with the opposition, and destroyed entire villages during reprisal attacks. Amnesty called for the CAR government to launch thorough investigations into the allegations:

[T]he CAR government must immediately investigate and bring to justice - in trials which meet international standards of fairness - its soldiers and other law enforcement agents accused of committing violations of human rights and humanitarian law.

[A]rmed groups have an obligation to respect international humanitarian law and must stop committing human rights abuses immediately... all parties to the conflict have an obligation to ensure that humanitarian organizations have unfettered access to the affected population.

[JURIST] The US Senate voted 64-35 [roll call] Tuesday to revive the comprehensive immigration reform bill [S 1639 summary]. A little over a week ago Senate leaders said they would like to continue work on the bill [statement; JURIST report], which was shelved early this month after a 50-45 vote to reject cloture [JURIST report]. The Senate could begin voting on amendments as early as Thursday. The bill still faces strong opposition by many Senate Republicans; to survive, it needs the sustained support of 60 senators.

President George W. Bush has gone to great lengths to build Republican support for the bill, promoting it as necessary for both border security and for the US economy [press briefing transcript]. On Tuesday, Bush also said the guest worker program in the bill was important for moral reasons [transcript; press secretary statement], describing the plight of immigrants being smuggled into the country, working to care for their families. Despite the president's efforts, Republicans in the House may pose an even greater challenge for the bill's supporters, planning to demonstrate their opposition to the Senate bill by a party resolution. Last week House Republicans proposed a tougher immigration bill [JURIST report] that would establish English as the national language and bar all illegal immigrants from obtaining legal status. AP has more.

[JURIST] A Nigerian court Tuesday dismissed a request by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer [corporate website] to throw out a $7 billion lawsuit [BBC backgrounder] filed by the Nigerian government over a drug experiment conducted in the 1990s that allegedly killed or disabled children. Pfizer lawyers argued that the case had been improperly filed by government prosecutors. The judge agreed that one amendment, seeking to add 85 new claims to the case, had been brought improperly, but allowed the originally filed 56 claims to move forward. The government's case, which is being heard in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, is distinct from a $2 billion case brought in Kano, the site of the alleged experiment. A related case was dismissed [order, PDF] by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] in 2005.

All of the cases stem from an alleged illegal study performed during a meningitis outbreak in Kano in 1996. Lawyers allege that Pfizer treated 100 affected children with an experimental antibiotic called Trovan [Wikipedia backgrounder], while another 100 children were given lower than recommended doses of an approved antibiotic, Ceftriaxone [Wikipedia backgrounder]. As many as 11 children in the study died, while more now suffer from brain damage, paralysis, and other ailments. Pfizer denies that Trovan or their actions are responsible for the conditions. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Former French President Jacques Chirac [official profile; BBC profile] will likely be questioned in an alleged corruption scheme [JURIST report] during Chirac's tenure as the mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995, Chirac's lawyer Jean Veil said Tuesday. Chirac, who headed the Rally for the Republic (RPR), now renamed as the Union for a Popular Movement [party website], allegedly financed the RPR's payroll by illegally establishing fake city positions for party members to collect salaries totaling several million dollars. Chirac's lawyer said he will be called as a material witness; under French law, a material witness is not formally a suspect, but may be indicted pending the investigation. Veil emphasized that Chirac will not answer questions concerning two other scandals that allegedly occurred during Chirac's tenure as president of France [JURIST news archive], which ended in May.

Chirac allegedly ordered a secret investigation into current President Nicolas Sarkozy [BBC profile] in the Clearstream Affair [Wikipedia backgrounder] as part of a smear campaign [JURIST report] against Sarkozy prior to the presidential elections. Chirac has also refused to allow magistrates to search his office [BBC report] or question him pursuant to an investigation of the mysterious death of French judge Bernard Borrel [advocacy website, in French] in Djibouti. Chirac's lawyer said that because the French constitution grants judicial immunity to the president, Chirac will refuse to answer questions about events that occurred during his presidency. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The Taiwan High Court [official website, in Chinese] convicted Chao Chien-min, son-in-law of President Chen Shui-bian [BBC profile], of insider trading Tuesday. The decision affirmed a lower court's verdict [JURIST report], which also imposed a $900,000 fine, but increased Chao's prison sentence from six years to seven years because the insider trading exceeded $3.5 million. The court also affirmed the guilty verdict and the $900,000 fine against Chao's father, Chao Yu-chu, and sentenced him to nine years and six months in prison. The Chaos, who have up to 10 days to file a formal appeal, are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court of the Republic of China [official website].

Chen's wife, Wu Shu-chen, was indicted [JURIST report] last November for embezzlement and falsifying documents. Prosecutors have indicated that they have enough evidence to also indict Chen, who enjoys Article 52 [text] constitutional immunity from most criminal prosecution while he remains in office. Prosecutors say that the president and first lady embezzled $450,000 from the state affairs budget between 2002 and 2006. Chen has said that the funds were used for classified diplomatic purposes [JURIST report] although he has refused to produce documents to back his claim, saying the documents are state secrets. Chen has pledged to resign if his wife is found guilty, but it is unlikely that the trial will conclude before his term expires in 2008. Reuters has more. The Central News Agency has local coverage.

[JURIST] Outgoing UK Attorney General Lord Peter Goldsmith [official website] said Tuesday that the UK should initiate an inquiry into how interrogation techniques outlawed by the Geneva Conventions [ICRC materials] and the European Convention on Human Rights [text] were authorized and used by UK soldiers deployed in Iraq. Goldsmith, speaking before the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights [official website], said he only became aware of the use of the prohibited techniques after the death of Iraqi detainee Baha Musa [Herald report; JURIST news archive] while under British custody. Goldsmith, whose resignation [JURIST report] becomes effective this week, also doubted whether high-level British military officials needed to be advised legally that the techniques were prohibited.

In May, Goldsmith denied allegations that he advised Army officials to deny UK detainees in Iraq legal protections [Independent report] guaranteed under the Human Rights Act of 1998 (HRA) [text] and instead adopt a "pragmatic" approach adhering to the Geneva Conventions when handling detainees. The UK House of Lords has ruled that the HRA applies to British soldiers overseas [JURIST report] and also applies to detainees under British detention. The Daily Mail has more.

[JURIST] Britain's largest defense contractor BAE Systems [corporate website] said Tuesday that the US Department of Justice [official website] has initiated a formal investigation [press release] into BAE's compliance with anti-corruption laws amid allegations that BAE established a $120 million slush fund for members of the Saudi Royal family in exchange for defense contracts. Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesperson said that the British government had no comment on either the investigation or whether British authorities will cooperate with the investigation.

The Sunday Times reported last November that a senior Saudi diplomat delivered an ultimatum [ST report] to Blair threatening to sever diplomatic relations with the UK unless the British government dropped its probe into corruption allegations. In December, the UK Serious Fraud Office [official website] dropped its inquiry [press release] into a 1985 $86 billion defense contract for aircraft and other military equipment, saying that "it has been necessary to balance the need to maintain the rule of law against the wider public interest" following warnings from Blair and other UK government officials that the investigators would cause serious damage to UK-Saudi relations [BBC report]. AFP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The European Court of Justice (ECJ) [official website; JURIST news archive] Tuesday upheld [judgment] a Belgian law codifying the European Union's Third Money Laundering Directive [PDF text], which obligates lawyers to report facts or suspicion of their client's money laundering. The law was challenged by Belgian bar associations, but the court held that the requirement does not infringe on the right to a fair trial [press release, PDF] because the obligation is not linked with any judicial proceedings. The ECJ further added that the right to a fair trial is not an absolute right, and can be balanced with the "particular threat" presented by money laundering to society in the European Union. The ECJ also said that law did not violate the lawyer-client privilege because it does not require lawyers to reveal legal advice unless the lawyer is also involved in the laundering activities or provided legal advice for the purposes of money laundering.

The EU directive, approved in October 2005, requires all EU member states to enact legislation incorporating the directive by December 15, 2007 and is intended to particularly target organized crime and terrorist financing operations. Dow Jones has more.

[JURIST] The Election Commission of Thailand [official website, in Thai] is proceeding with criminal charges against two former government ministers under former Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra [BBC profile] for their alleged role in committing election fraud [JURIST report] during the voided April 2006 parliamentary elections [JURIST report]. Election Commission Secretary General Suthiphol Thavichaikam said Tuesday that the commission will charge Thammarack Issarangura na Ayutthaya, former Defense Minister and former deputy leader of the newly banned [JURIST report] Thai Rak Thai (TRT), and former Transportation Minister and TRT Deputy Secretary-General Pongsak Raktaphongphaisal for paying two minor political parties to both participate in and later contest the elections. The two former ministers allegedly forged registration documents to facilitate the hired candidates' false bids for parliamentary posts. Seven other TRT members face similar charges.

The TRT went on trial [JURIST report] in January for allegedly misusing the independent Election Commission and illegally paying smaller parties to run candidates, and was dissolved in May by the Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Thailand [official website, in Thai]. The court also banned 111 party officials from holding any political office for a period of five years. The Thai News Agency has more. Xinhua has additional coverage.

[JURIST] A federal judge from the US District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced Lt. Col. Bruce D. Hopfengardner, a US Army Reserve officer, to 21 months in prison Monday and imposed a fine of $144,500 for Hopfengardner's involvement in a construction bidding and kickback scheme to defraud the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) [official website] in Iraq. Hopfengardner, who pleaded guilty [press release] last year to conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud, used his position as a special adviser to the CPA to steer construction projects to Philip H. Bloom in exchange for cash, gifts, and even sexual favors. Hopfengardner faced a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors say that Bloom, who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] last April to charges of conspiracy, bribery and money laundering, received more than $8.6 million worth of rigged contracts. Bloom was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and ordered to forfeit $3.6 million in February. Another former US contractor working for the US Department of Defense [official website] in Iraq, received a nine-year prison sentence [JURIST report] in January. AP has more.

[JURIST] Iraqi security officials issued an arrest warrant and raided the home Tuesday of Culture Minister Asad Kamal al-Hashimi to investigate allegations that al-Hashimi masterminded an assassination attempt against a parliamentary candidate in February 2005. Al-Hashimi, a Sunni, is the first member of the Iraqi cabinet to face an arrest warrant. Al-Hashimi's party, the General Council for the People of Iraq, condemned the arrest warrant, saying it was a sectarian effort to remove Sunni leaders. Spokesperson for the Iraqi Accordance Front Muhanad al-Essawi said the charges against al-Hashimi were fabricated. The Iraqi Accordance Front [BBC backgrounder], composed of Sunni Arab Islamists and nationalists, is the largest Sunni parliamentary coalition in Iraq.

Last November, Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani announced an arrest warrant [JURIST report] for prominent hardliner Sunni cleric Harith al-Dhari [Time report], who headed the influential Association of Muslim Scholars [association website, in Arabic; GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. The warrant prompted widespread criticism from Sunni groups, which saw the move as being a part of the Shiite-dominated government's efforts to suppress Sunni political influence. AP has more.