[JURIST] A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Tennessee's execution procedures constitute "cruel and unusual" punishment, derailing plans to execute a death row inmate next week. US District Judge Aleta Trauger [official profile] held that revised death penalty protocols [PDF text; JURIST report], devised by the Tennessee Department of Corrections in April at the request of Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen [official website], do not ensure that prisoners' are properly anesthetized before they receive a lethal injection and thus violate their constitutional Eighth Amendment rights. The Tennessee Attorney General's office has not yet decided whether or not it will appeal the decision.
AP has more.

Bredesen ordered a moratorium on executions [executive order, PDF; JURIST report] in February and directed the Tennessee Department of Corrections to conduct a "comprehensive review of the manner in which death sentences are administered... and provide [the governor] new protocols and related written procedures in administering death sentences in Tennessee." Bredesen accepted the new protocols and the state conducted its first execution [JURIST report] under the new rules in May. The new protocol includes more detailed guidelines for administering lethal injections but still includes a controversial three-drug "cocktail" which some say may be ineffective in preventing inmates from suffering a painful death [JURIST report]. Tennessee executed [JURIST report] a condemned man by electric chair last week, the first execution by electrocution in the state since 1960.

[JURIST] Canadian Liberal Party opposition leader Stephane Dion [official profile] Wednesday joined calls [press release] urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper [official profile] to pressure the US government for the immediate release of Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [TrialWatch profile; JURIST news archive]. Following a meeting with lawyers appointed to represent Khadr in his hearing before a military commission review court [JURIST news archive], Dion said that Khadr should face charges in civilian court in the US or Canada, and that he should receive "the same consular support that any other Canadian - detainee or not - would receive." Speaking on Khadr's 21st birthday, Dion said that Khadr should be tried in a "legitimate court" to ensure that he receives due process, adding that it is clear that fair prosecution at Guantanamo "does not work."

Khadr is the only citizen of a Western nation currently detained at Guantanamo. He was detained in Afghanistan in 2002 at the age of 15 after allegedly throwing a grenade that killed one US soldier and wounded another while fighting with the Taliban. Earlier proceedings against him were effectively quashed when the US Supreme Court rejected as unconstitutional [JURIST report] military commissions established by the president. He was formally recharged [charge sheet, PDF; JURIST report] in April under the new Military Commissions Act with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism, as well as spying. Last month, the Canadian Bar Association urged Harper [JURIST report] to "negotiate" with the US for Khadr's release, saying that indefinite detention without charge contradicts the rule of law. To date the Harper government has declined to comment on any plans to ask for Khadr's release. The Globe and Mail has more.

[JURIST] A Japanese district court Wednesday rejected demands for compensation by 22 South Korean women, as well as the surviving relatives of other women, who were forced to work [JURIST news archive] at a Japanese military hardware factory during World War II. Although the Toyama District Court recognized that the women were brought to Japan and forced to work at the factory, the judge ruled that war-related financial settlements had already been reached under various peace and compensation treaties, such as the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea [text]. The plaintiffs, at the time between the ages of 12 and 19 years old, were brought to Japan under the pretense that they would receive higher education. The women were then forced to work without pay and without sufficient food. The plaintiffs were seeking approximately 100 million yen ($862,000 USD).

In May a similar lawsuit brought by seven South Korean women was dismissed [JURIST report], with the court citing the 1965 treaty. In June the Japanese Sapporo High Court rejected a lawsuit [JURIST report] brought by Chinese plaintiffs who alleged that they were forced to work as slave laborers in mines and factories during the war. In that case the court ruled that the 1972 Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China [text] renounced Chinese claims for war reparations from Japan. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Argentina [official website] has ordered [PDF text, in Spanish] the government to provide the indigenous people of the Chaco region with basic necessities while it investigates claims that their land has been illegally sold to commercial farmers. The amparo action, brought by the office of the Defender of the People [official website, press release], alleged that government officials have denied food and medical aid to the Toba, Wichi, and Mocovi tribes, which together claim 60,000 members in the Chaco region. As a result, they are suffering from malnourishment and illnesses such as cholera and tuberculosis, and at least 12 Toba have died in the past few months. The Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday ordering the government to provide food, potable water, and methods of communication with and transportation to health facilities. Noting "the necessity, without prejudice to what could be decided at the adequate moment in relation to the competence [of the Court], to adopt measures that tend to guarantee the effectiveness of the rights [claimed] and to avoid the violation of these rights," the Court also ordered a hearing to take place next month.

Since June of this year, members of the Wichi community [Survival International profile] have camped out in front of the headquarters of the Chaco regional government, some undergoing a hunger strike, to demand land rights, education and health care for the indigenous people of the Chaco. According to the protesters, the government has permitted public lands reserved for indigenous groups in the Chaco to be sold to growers of genetically modified soy. In 2003, the Wichi won a legal battle against the government when the Supreme Court ruled that licenses to conduct commercial logging on the Wichi's traditional lands could not be granted without prior consultation with the tribe. Clarin has local coverage, in Spanish.

[JURIST] US President George W. Bush Wednesday urged [speech text; WH fact sheet] Congress to make permanent a law broadening the government's ability to conduct warrantless surveillance of terror suspects abroad, echoing recent statements by intelligence officials. The Protect America Act 2007 [S 1927 materials], passed [JURIST report] by Congress in August, gives the executive branch expanded surveillance authority for a period of six months while Congress works on long-term legislation to "modernize" the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text]. Speaking from National Security Agency headquarters, Bush said technological innovations such as cell phones and the Internet render FISA outmoded and extend privacy protection to foreigners, something that was not intended by FISA's drafters. In addition to urging the permanent adoption of the Protect America Act, Bush noted his support of proposals granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that aided government surveillance without a court order:

It's particularly important for Congress to provide meaningful liability protection to those companies now facing multi-billion dollar lawsuits only because they are believed to have assisted in efforts to defend our nation following the 9/11 attacks. Additionally, without this protection, state secrets could be revealed in connection with those lawsuits - and our ability to protect our people would be weakened.

[JURIST] Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev [BBC profile] Wednesday called for a national referendum on amending the Kyrgyzstan constitution [constitutional materials, in Kyrgyz] to elect parliament members by party list rather than by direct election, saying such a change would help defeat a "constitutional deadlock." Critics say the change would hurt smaller parties and independent politicians in Kyrgyzstan [JURIST news archive], and is designed to bolster Bakiyev's own position. Bakiyev's proposal comes on the heels of constitutional changes approved by parliament late last year that first curtailed [JURIST report] and then restored [JURIST report] Bakiyev's presidential power, after Bakiyev threatened to dissolve parliament. The Constitutional Court later threw out the amendments, holding that they were approved under pressure.

Kyrgyzstan has been in political turmoil, with the Kyrgyz constitution being amended numerous times, since former president Askar Akayev [BBC profile] was ousted [JURIST report] during the so-called Tulip Revolution [Wikipedia backgrounder] of 2005. The newly proposed amendment will be voted on in late October. AP has more.

[JURIST] A measure in the US Senate [official website] that would have overturned the current ban on habeas corpus petitions [SA 2022 materials] for detainees at Guantanamo Bay was unable to achieve the 60 votes needed [roll call] to cut off debate Wednesday. Sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), the bill would have amended the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 [HR 1585 summary] to rescind portions of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [PDF text, JURIST news archive] that prevent detainees from challenging their detentions in court. Following the vote, Leahy said that the Senate should not give up on the bill [press release], likening the suspension of habeas corpus to the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II and calling it "an action driven by fear" and a "stain on America’s reputation in the world."

Prior to Wednesday's 56-43 defeat, Specter characterized habeas corpus as a fundamental right [press release], tracing its history to the Magna Carta in 1215. Leahy said that the Senate should not forget that values such as habeas corpus are the foundation of what makes America strong [press release]. Specter and Leahy are also co-sponsors of another bill [S 185 summary], currently on the legislative calender, that also seeks to restore habeas corpus for detainees. AP has more.

[JURIST] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [IHT backgrounder] Tuesday urged the government of Turkey to remove the current ban on the wearing of headscarves at state universities [JURIST report], saying that the ban effectively denies some Muslim women access to higher education. Erdogan, whose Muslim-rooted AK Party promised a new constitution [JURIST report] after winning elections earlier this year, said that the headscarf issue is a top priority. Opponents say that the ban on headscarves is necessary to protect the separation of religion and state.

Traditionally worn by Muslim women, headscarves and other forms of religious dress [JURIST news archive] are banned from many public places in modern Turkey, a majority Muslim country despite official secularism. Last year, a Turkish court acquitted [JURIST report] retired archaeologist Muazzez Ilmiye Cig [personal website] of charges of insulting religion after postulating in her book that headscarves were originally worn before the founding of Islam by ancient Mesopotamian priestesses who initiated young men into sex. The case also drew criticism from international archaeological associations [IAA appeal] and from the European Union, which had warned Turkey that its laws infringing freedom of expression may delay its entry into the global body. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A Zimbabwean parliamentary debate on a draft constitutional amendment bill that could essentially give Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile] the authority to appoint his successor concluded without challenge Tuesday. Floor debate lasted only one day [JURIST report], and the swift conclusion was dubbed an "historical collaboration" by state television network ZTV. The proposed changes would allow parliament to appoint a new president should the incumbent step down before the end of his term; there is speculation that Mugabe will step down before elections are held so that his ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) [Wikipedia backgrounder], would be able to select the next president. ZANU-PF currently enjoys the necessary two-thirds parliamentary majority for amending the Zimbabwean constitution [PDF text]. Primary opposition group Movement for Democratic Change [party website] said they declined to object to the measure as a sign of good faith for constitutional reform to ensure free elections. The draft will become law after a final vote. AP has more.

In June, the Zimbabwean government published [JURIST report] the bill to amend the constitution, which also proposes the simultaneous election of the president and both houses of the legislature. Critics allege that the reforms are intended to weaken the opposition. The proposed amendments would end the existing assembly's term two years early in 2008, reduce the president's term from six years to five, and increase the number of legislators in the House of Assembly from 150 to 210 and the Senate from 66 to 84. In addition, the number of House of Assembly members appointed by the president would decrease from 30 to 10, but the number of senators appointed by the president would go from 16 to 34.

[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] urged the US and nine other countries to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty [PDF text] on Tuesday, saying [press release] that the ratification would "move us toward the larger goals of ridding the world of nuclear weapons and preventing their proliferation." UN diplomats said that US leadership is essential to finishing the deal, which will not go into effect until all 44 nations listed in Annex 2 of the treaty ratify it. Only 10 nations have yet to ratify the accord, including China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and the US.

The US signed the treaty in 1996, but has consistently withheld ratification [JURIST report] citing national security concerns. The US staged a boycott [JURIST report] of a 2005 UN conference designed to encourage the treaty's passage. A total of 177 states have signed the treaty, 140 of which have ratified it in their home countries. AP has more.

[JURIST] German Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries [official profile, in German] on Tuesday proposed [press release, in German] adding two new criminal offenses to Germany's anti-terrorism law in the wake of the September 4 arrest [IHT report] of three suspected Islamic militants who are accused of planning a series of car bombings. The first proposed offense, "preparing an act of violence," would criminalize actions in furtherance of a plan to commit a terrorist attack, such as stockpiling weapons or attending a terrorist training camp, with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The second proposed offense, providing "instructions for an act of violence, would criminalize, for example, posting bomb-making instructions on the Internet, and would carry a maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Under section 7 of the German Penal Code, § 129a StGB [text, in German], "membership in a terrorist organization" is a crime. In 2007, the German government enacted an anti-terrorism law [Heise Online report] to allow federal intelligence agencies to collect data from airlines, banks, postal firms, and telecommunications and teleservice companies. AP has more.

[JURIST] Protesters in Buenos Aires on Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of Jorge Julio Lopez [JURIST report], who is believed to have been kidnapped after testifying against Miguel Etchecolatz [Project Disappeared profile] in the latter's trial [JURIST report] for crimes committed during Argentina's Dirty War [Global Security backgrounder]. Lopez, 77, had testified that he was abducted in 1976 and held in a clandestine detention center. He disappeared one day before Etchecolatz, the former chief investigator of the Buenos Aires police, became the second official in Argentina to be sentenced [JURIST report] for crimes against humanity and genocide. Lopez was the first of two witnesses to disappear last year; however, Luis Gerez, who was kidnapped in December 2006, reappeared three days later.

The Argentinean police claim to have interviewed 549 people in their investigation of Lopez's disappearance and to have pursued leads that associates of Etchecolatz abducted and possibly murdered Lopez. According to Lopez's lawyer, the government is reluctant to probe too deeply into the case due to the involvement of state security forces. The situation has also prompted concern among human rights groups for the safety of witnesses who are set to testify in the numerous upcoming trials of alleged war criminals. The trial of former police chaplain and Catholic priest Christian Von Wernich is currently underway, and Hector Febres, a former naval officer, will face trial in October for crimes committed at the Navy School of Mechanics (ESMA), one of the largest clandestine detention and torture centers of the Dirty War. IPS has more. Clarin has additional coverage, in Spanish.

[JURIST] Cambodian officials on Tuesday arrested former Khmer Rouge official Nuon Chea [GenocideWatch backgrounder] and escorted him to a hearing before the co-investigating judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) [official website; JURIST news archive], the court established to try former Khmer Rouge leaders. At the hearing, the court charged Chea with crimes against humanity and war crimes [statement, PDF] and ordered him to a detention cell.

Chea was known as Brother Number Two in the Khmer Rouge, indicative of his high position in the communist movement led by Pol Pot, who died in 1998 having never been prosecuted for alleged war crimes. The Khmer Rouge is generally held responsible for the genocide of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians who died between 1975 and 1979. The ECCC was established by a 2001 law [text as amended 2005, PDF] to investigate and try surviving Khmer Rouge officials, but to date, no top officials have faced trial. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Milberg Weiss partner William S. Lerach has agreed to plead guilty [press release] to conspiracy to obstruct justice charges 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. As part of the plea deal, Lerach will forfeit $7.75 million to the state, pay a $250,000 fine, and complete a one to two year prison sentence. He severed ties [press release] with his most recent law firm, now Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman Robbins, in late August.

In May of 2006, a federal grand jury indicted Milberg Weiss [JURIST report] and two name partners, David J. Bershad and Steven G. Schulman, on charges of conspiracy to make false statements and obstructing justice. Lerach was named as "Partner B" in the indictment [PDF text]. As part of the scheme, certain individuals who agreed to serve as class action representatives were promised 10 percent of the attorney fees eventually gathered by Milberg Weiss. This kickback was not revealed to the judge overseeing litigation, and the named plaintiffs who collected the kickback money made false statements under oath concerning the payments. Three individuals pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in connection with the scheme in May 2006, and former Milberg Weiss name partner David Bershad pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to conspiracy charges in July. Reuters has more. The Washington Post has additional coverage.