[JURIST] Former Guatemalan Police Director German Chupina, one of eight high ranking government and military officers charged [JURIST report] in Spain with genocide, torture, and other crimes against humanity, died Sunday at the age of 86. In December, a Guatemalan court ruled [JURIST report] that the eight men, including former dictator Efrain Rios Montt, could not be extradited to Spain, finding that Spain does not have jurisdiction over crimes committed during Guatemala's 36-year civil war [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; BBC timeline]. Chupina was arrested in November 2006 and subsequently released in December 2007 following the court ruling. AP has more.

The Spanish case was filed by Guatemalan Nobel Peace Price winner Rigoberta Menchu [Nobel profile] in 1999, based on allegations that the men were responsible for atrocities committed during the civil war, including the murder of eight Spanish priests and a 1980 military assault on the Spanish Embassy that killed 37 people, including Menchu's father. The Spanish National Court took jurisdiction of the case in 2006 after the Spanish Constitutional Court ruled [JURIST reports] in 2005 that Spanish courts can exercise universal jurisdiction over war crimes committed during Guatemala's civil war. A National Court judge issued arrest and extradition warrants in 2006; at that time, Montt dismissed the warrants as unfounded [JURIST report].

[JURIST] Pakistan [JURIST news archive] held rescheduled parliamentary elections Monday, after a month-long postponement [JURIST report] following the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive]. Final tallies are expected in the next few days, although initial results suggest some gains by opposition parties, which have voiced concerns over potential large-scale fraud. BBC News Monday reported several incidents of voting irregularities as well as a generally low voter turnout, perhaps due to fears of electoral violence.

Bhutto was assassinated [JURIST report] December 27 at a political rally in Rawalpindi. She was campaigning in the lead-up to the elections, then scheduled for January 8, in which her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) was challenging Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) [party websites]. BBC News has more. CBS News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Incarcerated former Yukos executive and lawyer Vasily Aleksanian [defense website] has been kept chained to his bed [press release] since his transfer to a Moscow hospital [JURIST report] for medical treatment earlier this month, his lawyer said Monday. Aleksanian was initially denied medical transfer by Russian authorities, despite three calls from the European Court of Human Rights to move Aleksanian to a medical clinic or risk violating the European Convention on Human Rights [PDF text]. Aleksanian's lawyer described Aleksanian's surroundings as unhygienic and said the conditions as "even worse than when he was in the prison." RIA Novosti has more.

Aleksanian was arrested in 2006 on charges of money laundering and embezzlement and was diagnosed with HIV a few months later. Fellow inmate and former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky [defense website; JURIST news archive] began a nearly two-week long hunger strike [JURIST report] after Aleksanian was first denied medical transfer, accusing officials of attempting to coerce Aleksanian into making false confessions and assisting prosecutors with charges against Khodorkovsky by denying proper medical treatment. Khodorkovsky ended his hunger strike [JURIST report] last week when officials confirmed that Aleksanian was transferred to a civilian medical center. Khodorkovsky was convicted of tax evasion [JURIST report] in 2005 and is currently imprisoned in Siberia.

[JURIST] Control orders [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] imposing restrictions on uncharged suspects under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 [UK Home Office materials] should not exceed two years in duration except under extraordinary circumstances, the UK's counter-terrorism law ombudsman said in his third annual report [PDF text; press release] Monday. Lord Carlile of Berriew [party profile; JURIST news archive] found that the current system of control orders is "a justifiable and proportional safety valve for the proper protection of civil society," but argued that time limits should be imposed on the length of control orders. The UK parliament is scheduled to consider legislation to extend the Act's control order program for an additional 12 months on February 22. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith [official profile] has expressed support for extending the legislation and making broader use of control orders as a counter-terrorism tool. AP has more.

Control orders allow the British government to impose house arrest and electronic surveillance on suspects and to forbid them from using mobile phones and the Internet when there is not enough evidence to prosecute. They were first introduced [JURIST report] by the government of former Prime Minister Tony Blair in 2005 and, apart from being politically controversial, have already run into problems in the courts [JURIST report]. The UK Law Lords ruled [JURIST report] in a series of decisions in October that the government can continue to impose control orders on terror suspects in lieu of detention, but said that some elements of the orders issued under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 violate human rights.

[JURIST] The United States and several key European Union powers formally recognized Kosovo as a sovereign state Monday, one day after the Assembly of Kosovo unilaterally declared Kosovo's independence [text; JURIST report] from Serbia. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a statement [text] on behalf of the United States which "formally recognized Kosovo as a sovereign and independent state," adding that President George W. Bush had "responded affirmatively" [Bush letter] to a request from Kosovo to open diplomatic relations with the US. AP has more.

Also Monday, the EU's General Affairs and External Relations Council concluded [PDF text] that the decision to recognize Kosovo's independence would be left to each EU member state, "in accordance with national practice and international law." Great Britain, France, and Germany recognized Kosovo's independence Monday, but Spain, Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus, and Romania said they would not. The Serbian government, which immediately denounced the unilateral declaration as illegal [press release], said Monday it would never recognize Kosovo as an independent state. The Serbian Interior Ministry has also filed treason charges [JURIST report] against Kosovo's prime minister, president and speaker of parliament for their roles in organizing the declaration of independence. AP has more.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile; JURIST news archive] on Sunday criticized Nepal [press release, PDF] for failing to hold military and government officials accountable for human rights abuses. Arbour spoke on the anniversary of the 2004 death of a 15-year-old-girl [Nepali Times report] who died during an interrogation by the Nepalese Army, characterizing the government's failure to effectively prosecute military officers for Maina Sunuwar's death as symptomatic of a larger culture of impunity existing within the Nepalese government:

Lack of accountability in this and numerous other cases is helping to perpetuate a culture of impunity in Nepal, and there is a danger this could become a barrier to achieving lasting peace. Maina Sunuwar's case presents a significant opportunity for the Government of Nepal to send a signal that the culture of impunity is ending. The successful prosecution of those responsible for her murder will strengthen the rule of law and uphold victims' rights to a remedy.

[JURIST] A tentative agreement between the Israeli government and Hamas [BBC backgrounder] for the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit [Times backgrounder; JURIST news archive] has been hindered by disagreements over the identity of the Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for Shalit, Israeli Army Radio reported Monday. Hamas is demanding the release of 350 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Israel has tentatively agreed to release 230 requested prisoners [JURIST report] but disagreements still remain about the other 120.

Last April, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert [BBC profile] rejected a demand by Palestinian militants to free hundreds of prisoners [JURIST report] in exchange for Shalit. Israel detained about 30 Palestinian lawmakers [JURIST report], including a third of the Hamas Palestinian cabinet, following the June 2006 capture of Shalit by Hamas. AFP has more.

[JURIST] A number of Canadian politicians are urging the Canadian parliament to pass new legislation aimed at permitting the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) [official website] to conduct surveillance on Canadian citizens outside Canada in the wake of a controversial court ruling [JURIST report] issued Friday which declined to assert jurisdiction over a dispute between CSIS and the Canadian Security Establishment (CSE) [official website] as to whether CSIS could be granted warrants to spy on Canadians overseas. The dispute arose when CSE, the body mandated by Canadian law to monitor foreign communications, declined a CSIS request to conduct surveillance abroad on ten suspected terrorists, nine of whom were Canadian citizens or legal residents of Canada. CSE maintains that current Canadian law does not permit surveillance of Canadian citizens abroad. CSIS took its request to the Federal Court of Canada, which declined to issue the warrants.

In Monday's Toronto Globe & Mail Colin Kenny, head of the Canadian Senate's Committee on National Security and Defence, called for Parliament to draft a law authorizing surveillance of Canadian citizens abroad, saying "it's hugely urgent." The ten terror suspects are already subject to eavesdropping warrants for communications made inside Canada. The Globe & Mail has more.

[JURIST] Egyptian police on Sunday arrested 51 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood [party website; FAS backgrounder], most of whom were expected to run in upcoming provincial council elections scheduled for April 8 [MB report]. Egypt's provincial councils administer local municipal government services. These municipal elections were originally scheduled for 2006, but the Egyptian legislature passed a law [JURIST report] to delay the elections for two years after the Muslim Brotherhood made a strong showing in the 2005 parliamentary elections. Last Thursday, Egyptian police arrested dozens of MB members "with no clear justification," according to the Muslim Brotherhood website. AP has more.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the largest opposition party in Egypt [JURIST news archive]. Its members run officially as independents because the Muslim Brotherhood has been banned in Egypt since 1954. Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] has criticized [press release] Egypt for repressing the group in a manner that "flouts fundamental human rights and freedoms." The Egyptian government accuses the organization of trying to create an Islamic theocracy through violence.

[JURIST] The Serbian Interior Ministry on Monday filed treason charges against Kosovar Prime Minister Hashim Thaci [official website, in Albanian; BBC profile], President Fatmir Sejdiu [official website, in Albanian], and Speaker of Parliament Jakup Krasniqi, for their role in organizing the Assembly of Kosovo's Sunday declaration of independence from Serbia [text; JURIST report]. Thaci, former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army [FAS backgrounder], was convicted in absentia and sentenced to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges in 1997 by a Serbian court.

Kosovo's decision to declare unilateral independence has been condemned by Serbia and Russia. The Serbian government on Sunday denounced the declaration as illegal [press release] and previously formally condemned the succession [text; JURIST report] as null and void and in violation of "the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, the United Nations Charter, Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), other relevant Security Council Resolutions as well as by international law in force." On Sunday, the UN Security Council [official website] failed to reach a consensus on the situation during an emergency session requested by Russia. Russia has also rejected Kosovo's declaration, warning that such unilateral action without the approval of the United Nations sets a dangerous precedent for "frozen conflicts" around the world. Other countries have said they will recognize an independent Kosovo, and on Monday US President George W. Bush said that "the Kosovars are now independent" [AP report]. AFP has more. Reuters has additional coverage.

[JURIST] A new foreign intelligence surveillance bill is needed to ensure that the US intelligence community has "the agility and the speed that we had before" to capture terrorist communications in the war on terror, US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell [official profile] said Sunday in an interview [transcript] with Fox News Sunday. The temporary Protect America Act [S 1927 materials; JURIST report] expired on Saturday without an agreement in Congress on replacement legislation. The Senate passed [JURIST report] the FISA Amendments Act [S 2248 materials] last week, but the House of Representatives did not approve the bill before leaving for a 12-day recess. McConnell said the main issue is providing a legal framework to encourage private telecommunication carriers to turn over information and data to the intelligence community: "there's uncertainty because the law has expired and the law of August, the Protect America Act, allowed us to compel — compel — support from a private carrier. That's now expired."

The version approved by the Senate provides immunity for telecommunications companies [JURIST report] from lawsuits related to their participation in the NSA warrantless surveillance program [JURIST news archive]. The House version [HR 3773 materials] of the legislation, approved [JURIST report] in November, does not include the immunity provisions. The FISA Amendments Act, supplementary to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text], would make it easier for the government to monitor foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States. In the absence of new legislation, the government can get an order from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor calls and e-mails, set up under FISA. Amendment supporters have rejected this option, saying it creates too much red tape. Strong critics of the legislation, including Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) [official website], have deplored its retroactive grant of immunity to participating telecom companies as an effective endorsement of warrantless wiretapping contrary to the rule of law [transcript; recorded video]. AP has more.