[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the District of Oregon has ruled that the US Treasury Department's freezing of the assets of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation [JURIST news archive] violated the organization's due processes rights because it failed to provide any basis for designating it a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" (SDGT) organization. The seizure of the organization's assets was authorized by Executive Order 13224 [DOS backgrounder], which allows the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to block the assets of individuals or entities designated to be SDGTs. Judge Garr King said Thursday that the definition of providing "material support" to terrorism as a criterion for designation was unconstitutionally vague. He did not overturn the designation, however, as it has yet to be decided whether the due process violation was harmless error. From Oregon, the Mail Tribune has more.

The now-defunct Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation is also involved in ongoing litigation [JURIST report] involving whether it was the subject of an illegal wiretap by the National Security Agency (NSA). The foundation alleges that the NSA illegally taped several conversations between the charity and its lawyers.

[JURIST] A court in military-ruled Myanmar [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] on Friday sentenced two lawyers from the National League for Democracy (NLD to four month prison terms for being "disrespectful" while representing dissident students. The US Department of State condemned the prosecutions [press release], calling for the military regime to "cease harassing and arresting citizens for peacefully exercising their internationally recognized human rights." Myanmar criminalizes participation in demonstrations, speeches, or written statements that could undermine stability. AFP has more.

Last Wednesday, a court sentenced nine student activists to six months in prison [JURIST report] for complaining that their trials were being held in secret. The court ruled that the activists had interrupted a public servant at a judicial proceeding. Last Monday, six members of the NLD were sentenced to between two and 13 years in prison [JURIST report] for their involvement in the abortive 2007 Saffron Revolution [Independent backgrounder]. The NLD's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] has been in house arrest for over thirteen years.