[JURIST] The case of six foreign medics [JURIST news archive] who were sentenced to death [JURIST report] last year for infecting hundreds of children in a Libyan hospital with AIDS has been settled, according to the Gaddafi Foundation [official website] Tuesday. The announcement comes one day before the Libyan Supreme Court was scheduled [JURIST report] to announce its verdict in the appellate trial for the five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor. Many analysts expected the court to uphold the lower court's death sentence, and some observers speculated the Libyan government would only overturn the convictions if western states agreed to provide medical expenses and financial compensation for the patients. Libya has previously demanded up to €10 million euros [JURIST report] (approximately $13 million) for each infected patient. The details of the settlement are expected to be released Wednesday.

The six medics have been imprisoned in Libya [JURIST news archive] since 1999 but have consistently maintained their innocence, saying that they were being scapegoated for unsanitary conditions in the Libyan hospitals where they worked. The medics were sentenced to death in their second trial on December 19 after the initial guilty verdict was overturned by the Libyan Supreme Court in 2005 and a retrial ordered [JURIST reports]. Bulgaria and its allies, including the US [JURIST report] and the European Union, contend that the medics are innocent and have been tortured into admitting guilt [HRW report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UK Foreign Office [official website] said Tuesday that Russia's refusal to extradite the primary suspect [JURIST report] in the murder of British citizen and former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko [BBC profile] was "unacceptable." Prime Minister Gordon Brown said his office was still considering how to respond to Russia's announcement Monday that it would not force Russian businessman Andrei Lugovoi to go to trial in the UK, where he has been charged with Litvinenko's murder [JURIST report]. Russian officials say the Russian constitution prohibits the extradition of citizens for criminal trials in other nations. The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CRS) has declined Russian offers to try the suspect in Russia.

Litvinenko and Lugovoi, both former employees of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) [official website], met in London 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]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Chicago jury in the federal fraud trial of Canadian-born financier and former media mogul Conrad Black [JURIST news archive] reported Tuesday that it was unable to render a unanimous decision on all counts against Black. The jurors sent a note to Judge Amy St. Eve [official profile] of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [official website], explaining:

We have discussed and deliberated on all the evidence and are still unable to reach a unanimous verdict on one or more counts. Please advise.

[JURIST] A lawyer for US Army Spc. Mario Lozano [defense website; Wikipedia profile], who is being tried in absentia [JURIST report] for the murder of Italian intelligence agent Nicola Calipari [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] and attempted murders of agent Andrea Carpani and Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena [Wikipedia profile], told a Rome court Tuesday that Italy lacks jurisdiction in the case. In his opening remarks, Alberto Biffani said that members of multinational forces are under sole jurisdiction of the country that sent them. Following Biffani's comments, Judge Angelo Gargani adjourned the case until late September, when the prosecution will make a rebuttal. The Italian agents and journalist were shot at while entering a US checkpoint [JURIST report] on the way to the Baghdad airport after the agents secured the release of Sgrena from Iraqi kidnappers.

Although Italy has not officially asked for Lozano's extradition, the US has made it clear that any such request would be rejected. Lozano has denied all charges against him [JURIST report], maintaining that he fired upon the Italian vehicle in self-defense after numerous attempts to signal the vehicle to stop when entering his checkpoint failed. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Brussels Court of First Instance has ruled that a Belgian internet service provider (ISP) must filter or block illegal peer-to-peer music downloading [JURIST news archive], giving Scarlet Extended Ltd [corporate website] six months to comply with its order or face €2,500 (US$3,425) in fines for every day of noncompliance. The ruling, made June 29 and originating from a suit brought on by Belgian Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers (SABAM) [organization website], relies on the European Union's Information Society Directive [Directive 2001/29/EC text] and may set an advisory precedent for other courts in member states. International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) [official website] chairman John Kennedy welcomed the ruling [press release], saying that "the court has confirmed that the ISPs have both a legal responsibility and the technical means to tackle piracy."

The music industry's efforts to hold ISPs liable for illegal peer-to-peer file sharing have been largely unsuccessful in North America. In 2004, the Supreme Court of Canada rebuffed efforts by the music industry [JURIST report] to force ISPs to pay royalties for music downloaded illegally by users, ruling that the ISPs were only "intermediaries" and not bound by Canada's Copyright Act [text]. The EUobserver has more. International Data Group News Service has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The Serbian Supreme Court [official website] Tuesday upheld [Blic report] the 40 year prison sentence [JURIST report] of Milorad Ulemek [Wikipedia backgrounder], according to Belgrade media reports. Ulemek was a paramilitary commander under Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive] who was convicted of murdering former Serbian President Ivan Stambolic [Guardian obituary] and attempting to murder former foreign minister and one time opposition leader Vuk Draskovic [official profile; Wikipedia profile]. Although the decision has not officially been reported by the court, sources speaking to Serbian media outlets said the court rejected the hitman's appeal that his previous trial was flawed, meaning that his conviction is now final. A court spokeswoman told AP that a decision had been made, but was not able to disclose what the decision was.

In May, Ulemek was separately convicted and sentenced to 40 years [JURIST report] for assisting in the assassination of former Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic [BBC obituary; memorial website]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Defense Support Section (DSS) of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official websites; JURIST news archive] opened the application process for defense lawyers Tuesday, seeking Cambodian and foreign lawyers [press release, PDF] with at least 10 years of relevant legal experience and "established competence in criminal and procedure at the international or national level" to represent Khmer Rouge defendants. Foreign applicants will be required to register with the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia and pay a $500 registration fee [JURIST report]. The DSS also opened the application process for legal consultants and case managers to join the defense team supporting the lawyers.

In June, judges of the ECCC unanimously adopted [press release, PDF; JURIST report] internal rules for the tribunal following the conclusion of a two-week meeting [JURIST report]. Tribunal judges have struggled with integrating international criminal law with Cambodian law, which is heavily influenced by the French legal system. The ECCC was established by a 2001 law [text as amended 2005, PDF] to investigate and try those responsible for the Cambodian genocide that occurred under the 1975-1979 Khmer Rouge [MIPT backgrounder; JURIST news archive] regime. The genocide resulted in the deaths of over 1.7 million people from maltreatment, disease and malnutrition. To date, no top Khmer Rouge officials have faced trial. DPA has more.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official website] Tuesday condemned the recent execution by stoning of an Iranian man convicted of adultery, saying the execution was in violation of international law [press release]. As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [text], Iran should only impose the death penalty for serious violent crimes, Arbour said. The man and his companion had allegedly been in prison for more than 11 years and were scheduled to be killed by stoning on June 21. Although the execution was stayed for a government moratorium on stoning executions enacted in 2002, the man was stoned to death last Thursday. Arbour called on Iran [JURIST news archive] to investigate why the execution was carried out in light of the government suspension; she also asked Iran to stop the scheduled execution of the man's companion and all other pending death sentences by stoning. Although reform members in the Iranian parliament [official website] have sought to eliminate stoning as punishment for convicted adultery, conservative clerics have prevented the change.

Last month, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] called on Iran to halt executions of juvenile offenders [JURIST report], again pointing to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child [text]. Both international agreements prohibit Iran from imposing the death penalty on children younger than 18. The UN News Center has more. AP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The government of the Philippines Tuesday rejected a request [statement] by the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that the 2007 Human Security Act be revisited [JURIST report], as Filipino presidential spokesperson Ignacio Bunye said the controversial law had already experienced "exhaustive debates" in the legislature and that delaying its July 15 implementation could "embolden terrorists." Bunye instead urged the CBCP to support the law and supervise its implementation. Also Tuesday, the Filipino government announced a "massive public information and advocacy campaign" [press release] to accompany the implementation of the Human Security Act [PDF text] and highlight "the existence of terror cells in the region and throughout the world." National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said Tuesday that the new law is designed to protect the rights of innocent people [press release] against terrorism.

The CBCP, the official organization of the Catholic episcopacy in the Philippines, is highly influential as nearly 81 percent of the Filipino population is Catholic. In March, a United Nations human rights expert urged [statement; JURIST report] the Philippines to amend or repeal the anti-terrorism law because it allows house arrests without strong evidence of guilt and transfers the power to review detentions to the executive branch instead of an independent judicial body. AFP has more.

[JURIST] British Judge Adrian Fulford Tuesday discharged the jury in the trial of suspects implicated in the failed bomb attacks on London's subway and bus systems [JURIST news archive] on July 21, 2005, after jurors indicated they were deadlocked in the deliberation of charges against defendants Manfo Kwaku Asiedu and Adel Yahya. Prosecutors have accused Asiedu of being a suicide bomber who lost his nerve and Yahya of planning the terror plot, which was carried out two weeks after a similar attack [JURIST news archive] killed 52 people. The prosecution has the option of retrying Asiedu and Yahya or dismissing the case, and a decision will be filed tomorrow.

On Monday, the same jury convicted [JURIST report] four defendants of conspiracy to murder. The four defendants had argued that the bombs were not real and were merely intended as a protest against the Iraq war. The trial began [JURIST report] in January of this year. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile; JURIST news archive] received reports that the FBI had improperly used national security letters (NSL) [CRS backgrounder, PDF; FBI backgrounder] prior to testifying before Congress in 2005 that "there has not been one verified case of civil liberties abuse," the Washington Post reported Tuesday. According to documents [press release and list] made available by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Gonzales received at least six internal FBI reports detailing legal or procedural violations before his April 27, 2005 testimony during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing [committee materials; transcript], which occurred as Congress was debating whether to renew the USA Patriot Act [JURIST news archive]. Department of Justice spokesperson Brian Roehrkasse defended Gonzales' testimony, telling the Post that the statements referred only to the lack of verified cases by the DOJ Office of Inspector General (OIG) [official website] and did not include other documents.

In March, the OIG released a report [PDF text] finding privacy violations at the FBI [JURIST report]. The review, which was conducted under the terms of the 2005 Patriot Act renewal legislation, found that the "FBI used NSLs in violation of applicable NSL standards, Attorney General Guidelines, and internal FBI policies." In June, a federal district court ordered [PDF text; JURIST report] ordered the FBI to release approximately 100,000 pages of documents detailing the FBI's use of NSLs pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act [DOJ backgrounder] request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation [advocacy website]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] David J. Bershad [corporate profile], former name partner at leading class action law firm Milberg Weiss [corporate website], pleaded guilty [press release] Monday to conspiracy to obstruct justice in a plot in which Milberg Weiss allegedly paid up to $11.3 million in illegal kickbacks since 1984 to individuals to serve as lead plaintiffs in class action and shareholder derivative lawsuits. Also Monday, Milberg Weiss terminated its relationship [press release] with Bershad, who agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors, give back $7.75 million in profits, and pay a $250,000 fine. Bershad's first sentencing hearing is slated for June 23, 2008, and he could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Three individuals have already pleaded guilty in the case [JURIST report]. Milberg Weiss, which has pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to fraud and conspiracy charges, is the largest US law firm ever indicted [JURIST report]. The firm allegedly collected fees of $216.1 million in cases where the firm is accused of illegal payments. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] The court-martial of US Marine Corps Cpl. Trent D. Thomas [advocacy website] for his alleged role in the 2006 kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi civilian in Hamdania [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive] began Monday, with the prosecutor asking jurors to convict Thomas on charges [JURIST report] of premeditated murder and kidnapping. Defense lawyers, who asserted that "Marines in combat don't challenge orders," argued that Thomas followed the orders of his superior, Sgt. Lawrence G. Hutchins III, who is also facing several charges [JURIST report] including murder. If convicted, Thomas, who previously pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to unpremeditated murder but subsequently withdrew his guilty plea [JURIST report], could face the death penalty.

Five defendants have pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in the death of Hashim Ibrahim Awad [Wikipedia profile], who was removed from his residence and killed, then arranged with a shovel and firearm to appear as if he were planting an improvised explosive device. The Uniformed Code of Military Justice Section 809 Art. 90(2), Art. 91(2), and Art. 92(1, 2) [texts] impose upon military personnel an obligation and duty to obey only lawful orders. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini [official profile] told the European Parliament Monday that protections afforded under the US Privacy Act [text] will extend to European Union citizens as a part of a new airline passenger data-sharing agreement [JURIST news archive] between the US and EU. Frattini, hoping to ease concerns from EU parliament members that the new agreement [DHS press release; JURIST report] will erode European privacy standards, said that EU citizens will be able to seek compensation and redress pursuant to the privacy law. The new agreement, reached last month, essentially modifies and renews an existing interim agreement [JURIST report] set to expire at the end of July. It reduces the current 34 pieces of passenger data shared with US authorities to 19, but will allow the US Customs and Border Protection [official website] to hold passenger information for up to 15 years.

The new agreement will allow US and EU negotiators to continue work towards a permanent arrangement. In 2006, the European Court of Justice stuck down [JURIST report] an agreement [PDF text] between the US and the EU because the European Commission's finding [decision, PDF] that the US had adequate security measures to protect the passenger data was without legal basis. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Thai Supreme Court agreed to hear corruption charges [JURIST report] against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] Tuesday, scheduling the first hearing for August 14 and ordering the exiled Thaksin and his wife Pojamarn to appear before the court. Thaksin is charged with abuse of power for personal gain, conflict of interest violations, and also dereliction of duty for personal gain stemming from a 2003 land purchase by Pojamarn from the government-directed Financial Institutions Development Fund [official website]. Pojamarn allegedly purchased the property at nearly one-third of its earlier value, which prosecutors say is the result of Thaksin's illegal influence. Thaksin lawyer and spokesperson Noppadol Pattama indicated that Thaksin will not return to Thailand to face the charges, citing concerns for his personal safety and doubts on whether Thaksin will receive a fair trial [JURIST report]. If convicted, Thaksin and Pojamarn face a maximum sentence of up to 13 years in prison.

In June, Thai Attorney General Phatchara Yutithamdamrong recommended the seizure of the land [JURIST report] involved in the current case. The Assets Examination Committee (AEC) has also ordered the seizure of additional Thaksin family assets, valued at $245.7 million, saying that funds had been shifted from accounts frozen [JURIST report] shortly before the order to freeze was issued. The AEC recommended that charges be brought [JURIST report] against Pojamarn and other members of Thaksin's family in February and other investigations are ongoing. Investigators have been having difficulty linking Thaksin to corruption [JURIST report], which was the stated reason for last year's bloodless coup [JURIST report] which removed Thaksin from power. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Zheng Xiaoyu, former commissioner of China's State Food and Drug Administration [official website, in Chinese] was executed Tuesday, as the Supreme People's Court [official website] denied Zheng's appeal for leniency. The court sanctioned Zheng's execution, saying that Zheng's acceptance of $850,000 in bribes and his serious dereliction of duty as a high-level official warranted the harsh penalty as it had a serious negative impact on society.

In May, the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court convicted Zheng and sentenced him to death [JURIST report]. Zheng, who served as the food and drug commissioner from 1998 to 2005, allowed eight pharmaceutical companies to bypass the drug approval process, including one company whose antibiotic is suspected of killing at least 10 people. Last Friday, Zheng's former subordinate, former Pharmaceutical Registration Department Director Cao Wenzhuan, was also sentenced to death [JURIST report] for receiving approximately $316,000 in bribes in exchange for certifying substandard drugs from two pharmaceutical companies. Death sentences in China require the approval [JURIST report] of the Supreme People's Court. AP has more. Xinhua has local coverage in English and additional coverage in Chinese.