[JURIST] Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda [official website; BBC report], the newly elected successor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe [JURIST news archive], said Friday that he plans to submit a new anti-terrorism law to parliament that will allow Japan to continue to refuel allied ships in the Indian Ocean connected to Operation Enduring Freedom [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] in Afghanistan. The original legislation authorizing the refueling, the Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law [text], was passed in 2001 and has since been extended annually [MOFA press release]. The law is currently slated to expire November 1, after its renewal was blocked by the upper house of parliament. On Friday, ambassadors from 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, France and Germany, issued a joint statement encouraging Japan to continue its involvement, citing its contribution as "unique and vital."

Japan's involvement in Afghanistan has caused a rift [JURIST report] between the Liberal Democratic Party (LPJ) and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) [party websites]. Abe, a member of the LPJ, announced his resignation [BBC English translation; JURIST report] on September 12, citing problems renewing the anti-terrorism law. DPJ president Ichiro Ozawa [party profile] has voiced his opposition to Japan acting abroad in operations not sanctioned by the United Nations and has promised that his party will continue to block the legislation. The Australian has more. DPA has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki [official profile] Thursday refused to sign a bill [JURIST report] that would have limited the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) [official website] to only investigating crimes committed after 2003. The amendment, deleting portions of the 2003 Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act [text], would have made it impossible for the commission to continue investigations into some of the country's most notorious corruption cases [JURIST report], including the $1 billion scam known as the Goldenberg Affair [BBC report; Wikipedia backgrounder]. The Financial Times has more.

The Kenyan government has taken a number of anti-corruption initiatives in recent years, especially after Kibaki promised to clean up widespread government graft after being elected to office in 2002. Last year, Kenyan authorities charged [JURIST report] four former senior Kenyan government officials and a top businessman with corruption for their roles in the Goldenberg Affair. The charges came one month after Kibaki's education and energy ministers both resigned [JURIST report] after being implicated, but not charged, in the Goldenberg case for actions they took while serving in the previous regime.

[JURIST] A military panel Friday found US Army Spc. Jorge G. Sandoval not guilty of murder in the shooting deaths of three unarmed Iraqis but convicted him of planting evidence to cover up the shootings. Sandoval, along with Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley and Sgt. Evan Vela, was charged [press release; JURIST report] with premeditated murder and wrongfully placing a weapon with the remains of a deceased Iraqi for his role in the incident, which took place between April and June 2007 in the vicinity of Iskandariyah, Iraq [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. Sandoval is expected to be sentenced on Saturday. His lawyers expect a sentence of no more than six months in prison for misplacement of public property, while prosecutors argued for a five-year sentence for obstructing justice.

Sandoval pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] to these charges when his court-martial in Iraq Wednesday. Vela and Hensley will be tried separately. Vela's lawyer has argued that Vela was simply following orders to "bait" suspected Iraqi insurgents with materials that could be used to aid the insurgency and then kill them. In August, Hensley refused to accept a plea agreement [JURIST report], saying he was innocent of the charges against him. AP has more.

[JURIST] The government of Cuba [JURIST news archive] Thursday detained at least forty protesters who gathered outside the Ministry of Justice to demand humane treatment for the country's estimated 250 political prisoners. All but one of those detained were released on Friday, but former political prisoner Jose Luis Garcia Perez, who was released in April, reported that he had been beaten while in custody. According to the Cuban Commission on Human Rights, most of these prisoners live in unsanitary conditions and lack clean water, enough food, and medical attention. During a hearing [recorded video] before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights [official website] in July, the Cuban Democratic Directorate [advocacy website; press release] claimed that the International Committee of the Red Cross [official website] has not been permitted to inspect Cuban prisons since 1989.

Human rights groups estimate that the number of political prisoners in detention has dropped by over 20 percent since acting president Raul Castro assumed duties from Cuban President Fidel Castro [BBC profiles] on July 31, 2006. The Castro government released two dissidents [JURIST report] in August; however, it denies the existence of political prisoners in Cuba. AFP has more. El Pais has additional coverage [in Spanish].

[JURIST] Over 1,000 demonstrators faced off with riot police in Lima, Peru Thursday, demanding the release of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori [personal website; JURIST news archive]. Fujimori was extradited [JURIST report] to Peru Saturday following the Supreme Court of Chile's decision [JURIST report] last week that Fujimori should be extradited on human rights and corruption charges. Fujimori is accused of approving death squad killings and misusing government funds in Peru.

The Supreme Court's review came after Peru filed an appeal of a lower court's ruling [JURIST reports] denying the government's request for extradition. Fujimori served as president of Peru from 1990 to 2000. He was being held under house arrest [JURIST report] in Chile after being arrested [JURIST report] in December 2005 after flying into Chile from Japan to campaign for the Peruvian presidency, despite having been officially banned from holding public office until 2010 [JURIST report]. He is currently running for a seat in the Japanese parliament [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The government of the Philippines [JURIST news archive] has used an immigration blacklist [PDF list; HRW press release], consisting of 504 people allegedly linked to al Qaeda or the Taliban, to ban its critics from entering the country, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] said Friday. The Philippines government confirmed the blacklist, but said it was created to prevent disturbances during a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) [official website] between July 25 and August 10, rather than to block people linked to terror organizations. The list includes rights activists and church groups, as well as former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark [JURIST news archive], who was actively involved in the defense of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive].

HRW urged the Philippines not to prevent peaceful critics from entering the country at any time. Critics say the government has used the list to divert attention from accusations that President Gloria Arroyo [official website; BBC profile] has been involved in violence against her political opponents. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US will donate $5 million [remarks text] to the UN-backed tribunal established to investigate and try suspects in the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], US Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad announced Thursday. Khalilzad said the financial support

reflects our commitment to the process of accountability for political murder and assassination that has taken place in Lebanon. It is very important...that those who have been responsible for those crimes be brought to justice. That there is no impunity for political assassination, that political assassination is a threat to international peace and stability and every effort has to be made to bring those who are responsible for it to justice in order, not only to have accountability but also to deter future such crimes.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] dismissed legal challenges [JURIST report] Friday to a bid by current Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile] to run for another term as president while still serving as chief of the Pakistani army. The challengers had also opposed Musharraf's bid to avoid a general election by seeking re-election from the outgoing parliament and provincial assemblies. Recent rule changes [press release] by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) [official website] pave the way for Musharraf to remain as army chief while he campaigns for office. The court said it will explain its reasoning at a later date. Earlier this month, Musharraf announced plans to step down as army chief [JURIST report] if he is re-elected in the October 6 election, but has indicated that he intends to remain as army chief if he loses the election.

Pakistani police sealed off the capital of Islamabad [JURIST report] on Thursday to prevent protesters from rallying against Musharraf's bid for re-election. Also Thursday, the Supreme Court ordered the release of over 200 opposition party workers who have been detained [JURIST report] by the government since last week. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Defense has formally allowed fourteen "high-value" terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] the right to request lawyers, the Washington Post reported Friday. The move could pave the way for the "high-value" detainees to challenge their status as enemy combatants in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website]. In the past, defense officials have argued that allowing the "high-value" detainees access to lawyers without stringent security rules could reveal classified CIA information about alleged secret prisons [CoE materials], rendition flights [JURIST news archive] and interrogation methods. Lawyers will be able to communicate with the fourteen detainees after passing a security clearance.

The detainees received request forms [PDF text] in late August and early September, and at least four have already requested lawyers. Last week, the DOJ cut off lawyer access to some 40 detainees [JURIST report] after US District Judge Ricardo Urbina dismissed 16 habeas corpus challenges, rendering invalid protocols that had been established governing lawyers' access to detainees. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Three senior Bush administration officials urged the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee [official website] to approve the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea [UN materials] Thursday. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England and Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Patrick Walsh [statements, PDF] argued that US military interests are at risk while the US remains outside of the treaty. Negroponte noted that joining the convention is the "best way to secure navigational and economic rights related to the law of the sea," while England added that membership in the treaty will "support the global mobility of our armed forces and the sustainment of our combat forces overseas." The Senate Foreign Relations Committee gave unanimous support to the treaty in 2004, but a full Senate ratification stalled on the floor [JURIST report].

Opponents of the treaty argue that the treaty does exempt some military activities, but does not specify which ones. Others argue that the treaty fails to take into account special US military and commercial interests. Opponents of the treaty are scheduled to testify before the committee on October 4 [committee materials]. The Washington Times has more.

[JURIST] An east Siberian court Friday ruled that former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [defense website; JURIST news archive] should remain in custody for another three months in order to prevent him from obstructing a new investigation into Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev [defense website]. Russian prosecutors are investigating new charges [JURIST report] against the former Yukos Oil [corporate website] executives, which include stealing government shares, expropriating oil, and laundering over $25 billion. Lawyers for the men repeated previous calls that the men should be transferred from the Siberian penal colony in Chita Oblast [Wikipedia backgrounder] to Moscow, a call which Russian prosecutors have ignored [JURIST report], despite a March court order [JURIST report] that was upheld [JURIST report] in April.

Khodorkovsky was convicted of tax evasion [JURIST report] in May 2005, and is currently serving an eight-year prison term. The additional charges, filed against him in February 2007, are based on allegations that Khodorkovsky used his Open Russia Foundation [SourceWatch backgrounder] to divert oil revenues away from Yukos. If convicted on the new charges, Khodorkovsky faces an additional 15 years in prison. Both the United States and Khodorkovsky [JURIST reports] believe the new charges to be politically motivated, a claim which Russia has denied [JURIST report]. RIA Novosti has more. AP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] issued a stay of execution [order, PDF] Thursday for a a Texas inmate just hours before he was scheduled to be executed. Earlier this week, the Court granted certiorari [JURIST report] in Baze v. Rees (07-5439) [docket; cert. petition], where the Court will consider whether lethal injections of death row inmates constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment, though the Court did not provide specific reasons for granting a stay for Carlton Turner, Jr., convicted of killing his adoptive parents in 1998. Also Thursday, Alabama Gov. Bob Riley [official website] stayed the execution of an Alabama inmate for 45 days while the state develops a new lethal injection procedure [press release].

Texas, like many other states, uses a controversial three-drug mixture [DPIC backgrounder] of an anesthetic, a muscle paralyzer and a substance to stop the heart. The Kentucky Supreme Court [official website] ruled in the Baze case that the state's current method of lethal injection, the same method Texas uses, does not violate the constitution [JURIST report] because the prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment "does not require a complete absence of pain." Several constitutional challenges [JURIST news archive] to the procedure have arisen across the country, arguing that the first drug fails to make the inmate fully unconscious, thereby making the inmate suffer excruciating pain when the heart-stopping drug is injected. AP has more. The New York Times has additional coverage.