[JURIST] The jury in the US military commission trial of alleged al Qaeda media director Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al Bahlul [DOD materials] reached a verdict in the case Friday, but that will not be unsealed until Monday, when al Bahlul is present in the courtroom at the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] prison. Al Bahlul, a 39-year old Yemeni citizen, went on trial [JURIST report] at Guantanamo Monday. He vowed earlier this year to boycott proceedings against him, saying he would attend only when a verdict was handed down or he was sentenced. The jury, composed of US military officers, deliberated for only 4 hours Friday before reaching a verdict. Al Bahlul is only the second detainee to go on trial at Guantanamo since the prison there opened in 2002. AP has more. The Miami Herald has additional coverage.

Al Bahlul, alleged to have been Osama bin Laden's personal assistant and media secretary, was charged [JURIST report] in February with conspiracy, solicitation to commit murder and attacks on civilians, and providing material support for terrorism. He is accused of researching the financial impact of the 9/11 attacks and releasing the "martyr wills" of 9/11 hijackers Muhammed Atta and Ziad al Jarrah as propaganda videos. If convicted, he could receive a sentence of up to life imprisonment.

[JURIST] The UN Human Rights Committee [official website] on Friday urged Japan to take steps to abolish the death penalty [BBC backgrounder], reiterating its concern that the number of crimes punished by death in Japan has not been reduced and that the number of executions has steadily increased. In concluding observations [text, DOC] at its 94th Session in Geneva [materials; press release], the committee also criticized Japan's treatment of death row inmates, who are kept in solitary confinement and are executed without prior notice. The committee urged the Japanese government to "inform the public...about the desirability of abolition," and move to curtail the number of crimes punishable by death with the eventual goal of complete abolition of the death penalty. The committee also recommended that Japan "accept legal responsibility and apologize unreservedly" for forcing Asian women to become "comfort women" [Amnesty backgrounder; JURIST news archive] during World War II. AFP has more.

Japan has resisted international criticism of its system of capital punishment since it ended an unofficial moratorium [JURIST reports] in 1993. In August 2007, the Japanese national bar association called for a formal moratorium on the death penalty [JURIST report] until new safeguards are implemented to prevent wrongful executions.

[JURIST] US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch [official profile] announced Friday that Libya has made its final deposit [briefing transcript] to a $1.5 billion fund for US terrorism victims. Under a US-Libya agreement [JURIST report] concluded in August, President George W. Bush subsequently issued an Executive Order [text] restoring the immunities of Libya and Libyan officials before US courts and dismissing cases that are before US courts. The settlement is seen as an important step to the normalization of US-Libyan relations. The Washington Post has more.

The fund will be used to settle claims for victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] over Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1986 bombing of the La Belle disco [BBC backgrounder] in Berlin, Germany. An additional $300 million will be provided to compensate Libyan victims of retaliatory US air strikes that followed the disco bombing, although the source of the funding is unclear as US officials have indicated that no US tax dollars will be used to pay for the settlement.

[JURIST] The US Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] on Friday announced [press release] the transfer of two Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees. One detainee was transferred to Tajikistan and one to Kazakhstan. DOD hailed the move as proof of the effectiveness of its review processes and of US desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary. The Department reports that approximately 60 detainees at Guantanamo are eligible for transfer or release. AFP has more.

There are approximately 255 detainees currently at Guantanamo. Last Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates [official profile] confirmed that the detention facilities at Guantanamo will remain open [JURIST report] for the remainder of President George W. Bush's administration. Gates said any decision to close the prison would rest with the incoming administration.