[JURIST] Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website] formally suspended Russia's participation [press release] in the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty [text; backgrounder] Saturday, signing a presidential decree prohibiting NATO inspection and verification at Russian military facilities as well as ending conventional weapons limitations. Russia said the step was necessary due to "extraordinary circumstances," a reference to US plans to locate parts of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic, which Russia perceives to be a threat to Russian national security because it erodes Russian nuclear deterrence.

In April, Putin told both houses of the Russian parliament that he was informally suspending Russia's implementation of the CFE Treaty [JURIST report] due to what he called a US-led NATO military "build up" in Europe, and said at the time that he would explore the possibility of ending Russia's commitments under the treaty. The CFE Treaty, concluded in 1990 by the 22 members of NATO and the former Warsaw Pact, regulates deployment of non-nuclear forces in Europe. AP has more.

[JURIST] A group of six Democratic senators sent a letter to the US State Department Friday, urging Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] to take more steps to ensure that detainees transferred out of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] will not be subjected to torture. The letter, signed by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Barack Obama (D-IL), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) [official websites], expressed "grave concern" about allegations that detainees transferred to Tunisia and Libya had been subjected to torture or threats of torture, and called on the White House to develop an independent review process to ensure that detainees will not be sent to countries where they would likely face torture.

The letter comes at a time when the administration is facing increasing pressure to close down the Guantanamo facility [JURIST report]. The White House has denied any plans for imminent closure [JURIST report], but has been exploring how to relocate the detainees. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) [official websites] Friday announced [press release] the proposed launch of two oversight offices dedicated to reviewing the DOJ's National Security Division [official website] and the FBI's compliance with privacy laws, saying that the new offices will expand the scope of its oversight beyond the DOJ's "traditional oversight role" of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) search warrants and will examine "all national security activities to ensure compliance with all applicable laws, guidelines, and policies." American Civil Liberties Union [advocacy website] Washington Legislative Office Director Caroline Fredrickson said that "though it is commendable that the DOJ is pointing its investigative arm inward, its track record on internal regulation is shaky at best." Fredrickson called for independent oversight [press release], adding that "congressional and judicial oversight" must be used to guarantee that civil liberties are protected.

In March, the DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) [official website] released a report [PDF text] finding privacy violations at the FBI [JURIST report]. The review, conducted under the terms of the 2005 Patriot Act renewal legislation, found that the agency had improperly used national security letters [CRS backgrounder, PDF; FBI backgrounder]. In June, a federal district judge ordered [PDF text; JURIST report] 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]. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Glenn A. Fine [official profile] has urged the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs [official website] to strengthen the role of the DOJ's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) by eliminating jurisdictional limitations on the inspector general [transcript, PDF; recorded video, RAM] preventing the OIG from investigating alleged wrongdoing against the Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, and other senior DOJ lawyers. In testimony Wednesday, Fine said the limits were inappropriate and contradicted the spirit of 1978 Inspector General Act [text]. Fine criticized the current arrangement giving the Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) [official website] oversight of high-level officials, saying that the OPR lacks statutory independence and operates with an inherent conflict of interest because it reports directly to the Attorney General or Deputy Attorney General. Fine also urged legislation requiring the President to provide the reasons for removal to the inspector general and Congress in advance.

According to Fine, the OIG specifically objected to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' assigning of an internal investigation of whether political factors affected US Attorney firings to the OPR, and forced an agreement to a joint investigation [JURIST reports] into the controversial removal of eight US Attorneys [JURIST news archive]. The Washington Times has more.