[JURIST] The Australian Federal Court on Friday local time upheld a decision [text] to reinstate the work visa of Dr. Mohammad Haneef [JURIST news archive], who was detained by Australian authorities in July in connection with July's attempted UK car bomb terror attacks [JURIST report]. Australian Immigration and Citizenship Minister Kevin Andrews revoked Haneef's work visa and placed him under "immigration detention" shortly after he was granted bail by a magistrate, and later said that he had revoked the instrument on "character test" grounds under the Migration Act [text]. Haneef's visa was reinstated [ruling; JURIST report] in full by the court in August, but Andrews maintained that his decision to cancel it was in the "national interest" and that the court's ruling was a misinterpretation of the Act. In September, Andrews filed an appeal [case summary] contesting the decision in the Federal Court in Brisbane.

Haneef, who has not been implicated by UK authorities in the attacks, was detained as a terror suspect for 25 days for allegedly providing reckless material support to the suspected terrorists. The terror charge against him was dropped [JURIST reports] after the Australian director of public prosecutions reviewed the case and concluded that there was insufficient evidence [press release]. Haneef has since been allowed to return to India, but the Australian Federal Police said in August that he is still considered a suspect [JURIST report]. He has said that he wants to return to work as a doctor at the Gold Coast Hospital in Queensland, Australia. Australia's ABC News has more.

[JURIST] The White House said Thursday that it will appeal a Monday ruling [opinion, PDF; order, PDF] that held White House visitor logs to be public documents [press release], asking a federal judge not to force the logs' disclosure in the meantime. On Monday, US District Judge Royce C. Lamberth rejected [JURIST report] a Bush administration bid to have the logs treated as confidential presidential records. Visitor logs are compiled by the Secret Service, and thus subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [text] requests; the Bush administration had ordered that the logs be submitted to the White House, so that they would fall outside the domain of FOIA. Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) [advocacy website] brought the lawsuit, seeking logs regarding the White House visits of prominent conservative religious figures, including James Dobson and Jerry Falwell. AP has more.

In October, US District Judge Ricardo Urbina ordered the Secret Service to release visitor logs [JURIST report] for the personal residence and office of Vice-President Dick Cheney. The order was issued following a lawsuit by the Washington Post, which requested the logs in June while researching White House ties to political lobbyists. The Justice Department filed an appeal against the order [JURIST report] last week. In a second ruling [PDF text] issued Monday by Lamberth, the judge said that CREW could not seek an injunction [press release] preventing the Secret Service from destroying visitor logs after they are turned over to the White House.

[JURIST] US military judge Navy Capt. Keith Allred ruled [PDF text] Wednesday that military commission proceedings against Guantanamo Bay detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] can proceed, denying a defense motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. Allred had earlier agreed to hold a hearing to determine whether Hamdan should be considered a prisoner of war [JURIST report] under the Third Geneva Convention, but in the decision made available by the Defense Department Thursday, Allred concluded:

The Government has carried its burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the accused is an alien unlawful enemy combatant, subject to the jurisdiction of a military commission. The Commission has separately conducted a status determination under Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention, and determined by a preponderance of the evidence that he is not a lawful combatant or entitled to Prisoner of War Status. There being no Constitutional impediment to the Commission's exercise of jurisdiction over him, the Defense Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction is DENIED. The accused may be tried by military commission.

Much of the Commission's decision issued yesterday is, in our view, quite positive. Judge Allred ruled that as matter of international law, certain detainees at Guantanamo are entitled to Article 5 hearings under the Geneva Convention, and he found that Taliban and certain other participants captured during the armed conflict in Afghanistan, including al Qaeda fighters supporting the Taliban forces, may be deemed lawful combatants and therefore proper POW's who would not be subject to prosecution for war crimes under the Military Commissions Act. That is a ruling that may well have a substantial impact at Guantanamo, and other detainees in addition to Mr. Hamdan.

[JURIST] The Bush administration is abandoning a plan to give political appointees in the Defense Department a role in the promotion of military lawyers [Boston Globe report; JURIST report] working as members of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, the Boston Globe reported Wednesday. Critics of the proposed plan said that increased politicization of the promotion process would prevent JAGs from giving honest opinions on the legality of administration policy, especially regarding interrogation and the treatment of detainees. Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell denied allegations that the proposal was meant to stifle JAG criticism of administration policies, telling the Globe that it was intended as a form of "quality control."

Some 4,000 lawyers work as JAGs across the military, and their hirings and promotions are currently determined by a board of military officers. Under the proposed regulation, first circulated by the Pentagon in November and recently obtained by the Globe, decisions on hiring and promotion would have been made in "coordination" with that branch of the military's general counsel, a political appointee, and the Pentagon. Tensions between political appointees and Pentagon military lawyers have in the past led to recriminations over scandals such as Abu Ghraib, and the insertion of a political appointee into the prosecution process for detainees at Guantanamo Bay led in October to the resignation of the top military prosecutor [JURIST reports] in charge of the war crimes trials there. The Boston Globe has more.

[JURIST] The legal advisor to the Convening Authority [official backgrounder] for Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, US Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas W.Hartmann [official profile], Wednesday denied accusations by former Guantanamo Bay chief military prosecutor Col. Morris Davis [official profile, PDF] that he was pressured to hold secret trials and that politics is interfering with Guantanamo prosecutions. In a Los Angeles Times op-ed [text], Hartman said that the slow progress that frustrated Davis was an unavoidable part of a careful judicial process. He also rejected Davis' allegations that aspects of the military commissions were being intentionally hidden from the public. Hartman said:

Regarding his new allegations that the trials are not open, Davis knows that national security demands that certain evidence remain classified. He had an especially high security clearance for that very reason. But there will be no "secret" trials. Though we must safeguard classified information in order to protect ongoing operations and our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, not one piece of evidence will go to a commission jury without review and the opportunity to object by the accused and his counsel.

Military commissions are now moving forward fairly and transparently. As they continue, critics will see uniformed service members, including judges, prosecutors and defense counsel, conduct trials with the dignity, fairness, and respect for law that defines American military justice — a justice system that remains the envy of the world.

[JURIST] A judge in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Thursday found alleged Real IRA [BBC backgrounder] member Sean Gerard Hoey not guilty [judgment text, PDF] of murder in relation to the 1998 Omagh bombing [BBC backgrounder], the worst terrorist attack in Northern Ireland history. Judge Reginald Weir ruled that there was insufficient DNA evidence linking Hoey to the bomb to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he made the device. Hoey was formally charged [JURIST report] in 2005; he had been being held for earlier charges of possessing explosives and his alleged membership with the Real IRA.

The only other conviction made in connection with the Omagh bombing was in 2002 against Colm Murphy, but it was later quashed for mishandling of evidence [JURIST report]. Murphy faces a retrial. In 2005, the Irish Public Prosecution Service dropped charges [JURIST report] against another suspect, Anthony Joseph Donegan. Twenty-nine people were killed and 220 were injured when a car bomb [BBC backgrounder] set by the Real IRA, a splinter group of the former provisional Irish Republican Army opposed to the peace process, exploded in the Northern Ireland town of Omagh in 1998. AP has more.

[JURIST] Three former UK residents held at Guantanamo Bay who were released [press release] from US custody Wednesday and then detained by UK authorities [JURIST report] the same day on their arrival home were released from UK custody Thursday. Libyan Omar Deghayes and Algerian Abdennour Sameur were arrested and Jordanian Jamil el Banna was detained under the Terrorism Act [text]. Deghayes and el Banna may yet face extradition to Spain, although the British government has said that it will review the released men's immigration statuses to determine whether they may remain in the country. El-Banna and Deghayes were freed on bail pending their hearings, but Sameur was released without charge. Two other UK residents [JURIST report] still remain at Guantanamo: Saudi Arabian Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer, who is expected to return to his native country, and Ethiopian Binyam Mohammed al Habashi, who will stay in US custody. AP has more. The Guardian has additional coverage.

In August, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office [official website] asked the United States to release the five [press release; JURIST report], who were legal residents in the UK prior to their detention at Guantanamo. British officials under the government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair had initially refused to seek the release of the British resident aliens held at Guantanamo Bay, and el Banna and Deghayes were among a group of detainees who lost a court bid [JURIST report] to force the UK government to lobby the US for their release. All UK nationals detained at Guantanamo were returned to the UK by January 2005.

[JURIST] The US Senate passed the Block Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2007 [HR 3890 materials] Wednesday, a bill that would impose new economic sanctions and travel restrictions on leaders from Myanmar [JURIST news archive]. The bill is intended to push the military government to restore democratic rule. US Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), one of the sponsors of the Senate version of the sanctions bill, praised the passage of the legislation [press release], which he described:

The Burma Democracy Promotion Act imposes new financial sanctions and travel restrictions on the leaders of the junta and their associates. In addition, the legislation tightens the economic sanctions Congress imposed in 2003 by outlawing the importation of Burmese gems and timber to the United States. The bill also creates a new position of Special Representative and Policy Coordinator for Burma. The Special Representative will work with Burma's neighbors and other interested countries, including the members of the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to develop a comprehensive approach to the problem, including pressure, dialogue, and support for non-governmental organizations providing humanitarian relief to the Burmese people.

[JURIST] The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution [draft text, PDF] against "defamation of religion," expressing concern about laws that have led to religions discrimination and profiling since Sept. 11. The resolution urges all:

States to provide, within their respective legal and constitutional systems, adequate protection against acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from defamation of religions, to take all possible measures to promote tolerance and respect for all religions and their value systems and to complement legal systems with intellectual and moral strategies to combat religious hatred and intolerance.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Michael Mukasey [official profile; JURIST news archive] sent a memo to top Justice Department staff Wednesday advising them of a shift in DOJ policy that will limit who can discuss ongoing investigations with the White House. After he was nominated as attorney general, Mukasey promised that the DOJ would maintain greater independence [JURIST report] from the White House, saying that he would forbid DOJ employees from discussing sensitive cases with outside agencies. In his memo, Mukasey said that communications with the White House about ongoing cases will be limited to cases that are determined to be necessary to the president's ability to carry out his constitutional responsibilities. Only Mukasey or the deputy attorney general will be authorized to initiate discussions with White House staff, and then only with the White House counsel or deputy counsel. If necessary, a DOJ aide can be designated to continue discussions, but Mukasey wrote that the "designation will be limited to the fewest number of people practicable." In addition, the associate attorney general and solicitor general will be authorized in limited circumstances to discuss civil lawsuits and appeals without prior authorization from Mukasey or his deputy.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), one of the senators who led the call for a policy change, praised Mukasey's memo. According to a press release from his office:

"Today's new policy is a clear, unmistakable and welcome repudiation of the Gonzales era, and this change takes a significant step towards restoring Americans' confidence in the integrity of our justice system," Whitehouse said. "I'm encouraged that Attorney General Mukasey has honored his commitment to begin restoring the firewall against White House politicization at the Department."

In the Clinton administration, a total of only seven people at the White House and the Justice Department were permitted to initiate discussions of ongoing cases or investigations, including the President, Vice President, and Attorney General. During the tenure of Attorney General John Ashcroft, that policy changed to authorize more than 40 people at the Department and more than 400 people in the White House to initiate such conversations, opening up unrestricted channels for political interference.

[JURIST] A Chinese court has sentenced former prosecutor Li Baojin to death after convicting him Wednesday of accepting bribes and embezzling money. Li was found guilty of accepting $760,000 in bribes over a 10-year period while he worked as chief prosecutor and deputy police chief in Tianjin, as well as embezzling $1.9 million from the prosecutor's office. A court official, speaking anonymously, said that the death sentence will be suspended for two years, after which the sentence could be commuted to life in prison if Li demonstrates good behavior.

China has taken a hard line on corruption in recent months, punishing several officials with lengthy prison terms and the death penalty [JURIST report]. In September, a former official of the Agricultural Bank of China was executed [JURIST report] for taking bribes and embezzling nearly $2 million. In July, the former commissioner of China's State Food and Drug Administration was executed for accepting $850,000 in bribes [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Cambodia has lodged a formal complaint with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon over a UN official's comments earlier this month criticizing Cambodia's human rights record, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday. Speaking at a rally in Phnom Penh to mark International Human Rights Day on December 10, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in Cambodia Yash Ghai [press release] said that Cambodians still live in fear of the state, courts, and police [DPA report]. Hun Sen dismissed Ghai's comments Thursday, but did not provide detail on the specifics of the letter sent to Ban. AFP obtained a copy of the letter sent by Cambodian Ambassador to the UN Sea Kosal, and reported that Cambodia is considering not allowing Ghai to return to Cambodia.

Ghai's conduct has prompted similar reactions from the Cambodian government in the past. He was appointed to the post in 2005 and in 2006, Hun Sen called for Ghai's removal [JURIST report] after his public criticism of Cambodia's intolerance of dissent. Ghai issued a report earlier this year concluding that the Cambodian government has systematically violated human rights and civil liberties [JURIST report] to maintain its hold on power, causing Cambodian officials to refuse to meet with Ghai [JURIST report] during his visit to the country in May. Officials similarly refused to meet with Ghai during his December visit and Hun Sen has never met with the envoy. AFP has more.

[JURIST] South African National Prosecuting Authority [official website] acting Director Mokotedi Mpshe said Thursday that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to support corruption charges against Jacob Zuma [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], who earlier this week was elected leader of the African National Congress [party website], putting him in position to become the country's next president. Zuma has been facing corruption allegations [BBC timeline] and other charges for several years; he was first charged with corruption in 2005, but those charges were later dismissed [JURIST report] because prosecutors failed to follow proper procedures. He was also charged with rape in late 2005 and was acquitted at trial in April 2006. In the latest allegations [Reuters backgrounder], Zuma is accused of accepting almost $600,000 in bribes from a French arms company, a larger amount of money than previously thought.

Mpshe's announcement follows a decision last month from the South African Supreme Court of Appeal that warrants for documents seized from Zuma were lawfully obtained [JURIST report] and that the documents could be used against him if prosecutors continued to pursue the corruption case. AP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The US Senate and House of Representatives Wednesday passed by voice vote the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 [HR 2640 materials], which closes a loophole [JURIST report] that allowed Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho [Wikipedia profile] to purchase firearms despite a court order mandating psychiatric treatment. The US House first approved the bill [JURIST report] in June; the Senate passed an amended version of the legislation Wednesday and those amendments were subsequently approved by the House [press releases]. The legislation mandates improvements in state reporting to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) [FBI backgrounder], making record sharing automatic, and now goes to the White House for President Bush's signature. He has not yet indicated whether he intends to sign the bill.

The National Rifle Association has supported the bill [press release]; the organization does not believe it is a form of gun control [NRA report], as it only enforces current federal law and does not exclude any new parties from obtaining firearms. Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine closed the NICS reporting loophole [JURIST report] in that state by executive order [text; press release] in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Central Intelligence Agency will turn over information to Congress regarding the CIA's destruction of videotapes showing the interrogation of terror suspects [JURIST news archive], Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee, said Wednesday. Reyes' committee had begun the process of drawing up subpoenas for CIA documents after the Justice Department initially instructed the CIA not to cooperate [JURIST report] with the committee's investigation, but senior intelligence officials told AP that the CIA will begin turning over the requested information soon, possibly as early as Thursday.

CIA Director Michael Hayden acknowledged [statement text] earlier this month that the CIA had videotaped the interrogation of two al Qaeda suspects in 2002, but said that the tapes had been destroyed in 2005 amid concerns that they could be leaked to the public and compromise the identities of the interrogators. Several investigations have been launched into the tapes' destruction, including a joint DOJ-CIA preliminary investigation [JURIST report] and multiple congressional inquiries. AP has more.