[JURIST] The Iraqi government said Sunday it would sue the former head of the country's Commission on Public Integrity (CPI) [DOS backgrounder], Judge Radhi al-Radhi, for smuggling official documents, defaming the prime minister and corruption. In testimony [statement, PDF] Thursday before the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [official website], al-Radhi accused Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government of shielding corrupt employees and actively attempting to "eradicate or control the Commission." Several of the allegations mirror those cited in a memorandum [PDF text] prepared by the House committee based on interviews with the State Department's Office of Accountability and Transparency last week.

Al-Radhi resigned from the CPI in September while on official business in the United States, citing death threats against him and his family, though there have been previous corruption allegations against al-Radhi himself [JURIST report]. The CPI was established [press release] in 2004 and has the power to investigate complaints, refer criminal violations to the courts, and propose legislation to address corruption. In April, a US auditor's report [PDF text; JURIST report] found that efforts to combat widespread corruption in Iraq [JURIST news archive] had been hindered by security problems and by al-Maliki's reinstatement of a Saddam-era criminal procedure code [PDF text] provision allowing ministers to block corruption investigations of their own departments. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Russian police Saturday briefly detained five foreign activists in Nizhny Novgorod on charges of violating the terms of their Russian travel visas. The activists were detained for approximately four and a half hours, and were ordered to pay a $120 fine. The five, including Neil Hicks, a British citizen and a director of the New York-based group Human Rights First [advocacy website], were in Nizhny Novgorod to attend a human rights forum organized to commemorate the first anniversary of the murder of crusading journalist Anna Politkovskaya [JURIST news archive].

Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative journalist, was murdered execution-style [WP report] in her Moscow apartment building on October 7, 2006. The first-anniversary forum was organized by the Nizhny Novgorod edition of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta [media website] and the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Promote Tolerance. Politkovskaya was reporting for Novaya Gazeta at the time of her death. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage. Interfax has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Court of Appeal in Sudan [JURIST news archive] has rejected a request for the release of 25 uncharged members of the opposition Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), alleged to have plotted the overthrow of the government. Sudan's Criminal Procedure Act of 1983 allows for the detention of suspects under investigation for up to two weeks before they must be released or charged. The DUP members have been in custody for over 10 weeks since a flurry of arrests [Reuters report] by Sudanese authorities in July 2007.

The 25 detainees, including Umma Party for Reform and Renewal leader Mubarak al-Fadil, his secretary-general Abdel Jalil al-Basha, DUP deputy secretary-general Ali Mahmoud Hassanein and retired police, security and army officers, plan to take their case to the country's Supreme Court. Amnesty International, citing medical reports, continues to accuse the government of torturing and mistreating the detainees [Amnesty International report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Twenty-three family members and former associates of late Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] were ordered released [BBC report] on bail Saturday by a three-member panel of an appeals court in Chile. The appeals court upheld a Friday lower court ruling granting the bail. A Chilean judge indicted [JURIST story] the individuals - including Pinochet's widow and five children - Thursday on corruption charges stemming from Pinochet's 1973-1990 tenure as Chilean president. Reuters has more.

Pinochet died of a heart attack [JURIST report] in December 2006 without ever facing trial on multiple charges of tax evasion and human rights violations. Chilean authorities nonetheless began an investigation [JURIST report] earlier this year to determine whether Pinochet ordered state officials to murder former Chilean President Eduardo Frei Montalva [Britannica profile] in 1982.

[JURIST] Myanmar military leaders increased pressure on opponents [AP report] Sunday, detaining at least 135 Buddhist monks in connection with weapons allegedly seized from monasteries. The ruling junta claims raids have uncovered guns, knives and ammunition and insists they will punish all violators of the law. The crackdown comes on the heels of a sharp reduction in security in the capital Yangon. Streets were reported to be unusually quiet this weekend, more than a week after Myanmar security forces opened fire on protesters [JURIST report] demonstrating against the government.

Junta leader Senior General Than Shwe [BBC profile] has meanwhile offered to speak with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile]. It is believed unlikely Suu Kyi will accept Shwe's conditions of abandoning support for sanctions and "confrontation," but it is nonetheless the first time junta leadership has offered direct talks. Malaysia Sunday urged the military regime to hold unconditional talks with Suu Kyi before the world pushes harder for political change. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar warned that the United States would push for UN sanctions against Myanmar if it fails to move toward democracy. China and Russia oppose any external sanctions. On Friday the UN special envoy to Myanmar noted what he characterized as continuing and disturbing reports of abuses [JURIST report] being committed by security and non-uninformed elements in the country at a special meeting of the UN Security Council. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) [official website] has submitted a new draft anti-terrorism law that would limit Japan's naval support for US operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom [DOS backgrounder] to refueling and supplying water to coalition ships in the Indian Ocean. The latest proposed extension of the current Anti-Terrorism Special Measures Law [text] would bar Japanese ships from refueling coalition ships providing ground support in Afghanistan. It would also preclude Japanese forces from participating in search and rescue missions and relief efforts. New Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda [party profile; BBC profile] had previously expressed support for fully renewing the anti-terror law [JURIST report] but has come under pressure from the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) [official website] which contends that allied military operations in Afghanistan are not sanctioned by the United Nations and violate Japan's pacifist constitution [text]. The current law expires on November 1. The Democrats want a debate of the issue in the Diet, which could keep the law from being renewed before the deadline.

Japan's involvement in Afghanistan has precipitated a major rift [JURIST report] between Japan's two major parties, which helped prompt the resignation [BBC English translation; JURIST report] of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 12. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Washington State Supreme Court [official website] has struck down a state statute [text] making it illegal to lie about political opponents. Justice James M. Johnson [official profile], writing the 5-4 majority opinion [PDF text] handed down Thursday, said: "There can be no doubt that false personal attacks are too common in political campaigns, with wide-ranging detrimental consequences. However, government censorship such as RCW 42.17.530(1)(a) is not a constitutionally permitted remedy."

Justice Barbara Madsen [official profile] dissented [PDF text], insisting that "the majority's decision is an invitation to lie with impunity". She argued that the First Amendment does not protect false campaign statements if the plaintiff can prove actual malice. The majority ruling bucks a trend evidenced in more than a dozen US states that have passed similar laws [OLR backgrounder]. The ruling also deviates from a 1991 US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding a similar Ohio statute [text]. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Saudi Arabian Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz [WS profile] announced Saturday that 55 Saudi prisoners recently transferred from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] back to their home country will be given a temporary release and stipend of $2,600 to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr [RF backgrounder]. The release will coincide with the start of the holiday around October 13. After the holiday detainees will face trials in Saudi courts.

The US Department of Defense released 16 Saudi detainees in September [JURIST report], adding to transfers made in July [JURIST report] and February [JURIST report]. These releases come in the wake of Saudi Arabia's request last July [JURIST report] to have all Saudi detainees returned home. Three Saudi detainees have so far committed suicide at the camp. AP has more. From Saudi Arabia, Okaz has local coverage, in Arabic.