[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in two cases Tuesday. In United States v. Denedo [docket; cert. petition, PDF], the Court will decide whether a military appellate court has jurisdiction to entertain a petition for a writ of error coram nobis [backgrounder] filed by a former service member to review a final court-martial conviction. The case involves a Nigerian national who enlisted in the US Navy and was later convicted on larceny charges. After he was discharged from the Navy, deportation proceedings began onthe basis of the conviction. Denedo sought a writ of error coram nobis from the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces [official website], which found [opinion, PDF] that it had jurisdiction over the case. The US Department of Justice [official website] appealed the ruling.

In Nken v. Mukasy [docket; stay application, PDF], the Court will consider what standard governs a stay of deportation request by an alien pending consideration of his petition for review. Jean Marc Nken is a native of Cameroon who fears persecution upon return to his home country. He was denied a stay of a deportation order while he pursued court review of the denial of his asylum claim. His lawyers originally asked the Court for a stay of deportation, but the court granted full review to resolve the conflict over the proper standard of review. His deportation has since been blocked, and oral argument is scheduled for January 21.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] on Monday affirmed [opinion, PDF] a lower court decision denying in part defendant's motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit alleging that officials of the Roman Catholic Church failed to warn the public of sexual abuse of children by priests. The plaintiffs, who claim to be victims of clergy sexual abuse [JURIST news archive], filed a class action suit in 2004 against the Holy See [official website]. The Vatican appealed the partial denial of summary judgment by the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, arguing that the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because the Vatican is immune from suit as a foreign state pursuant to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) [28 U.S.C. § 1602 et seq text]. Plaintiffs also appealed the partial grant of summary judgment, claiming that the FSIA does not immunize the Holy See from suit. On appeal, Judge Julia Smith Gibbons wrote:

[I]f plaintiffs believe that the Holy See acted in a private capacity, then the plaintiffs are limited to arguing that an exception to the FSIA applies; such claims cannot serve as reasons to avoid the FSIA altogether. The exceptions to FSIA capture all instances where Congress has deemed conduct, if pursued by a foreign sovereign, sufficiently private so as to eliminate foreign sovereign immunity. In turn, the alternative capacity argument can only succeed to the extent that it identifies conduct that fits within one of the exceptions outlined under FSIA.

[JURIST] Former Osama Bin Laden [JURIST news archive] driver Salim Ahmed Hamdan [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] will soon be transferred [SABA report] from US to Yemeni custody, according to US military sources quoted in media reports Monday. His transfer comes approximately one month before the end of a six-month jail term [JURIST report] he received for providing material support for terrorism [charge sheet, PDF]. Commentators suggest that the transfer may signal possible future cooperation [Washington Post report] between Yemeni and US officials, as the US had previously refused to transfer detainees to Yemen's custody. Hamdan's transfer also eliminates concerns that were raised when government lawyers said they could hold him indefinitely [JURIST report] after the end of his sentence. Hamdan is expected to remain in Yemeni custody until his original release date of December 27.

In October, a US military judge denied [ruling, PDF; JURIST report] a request [motion, PDF] by prosecutors that he reconsider a decision that reduced Hamdan's sentence [JURIST report] from five-and-a-half years to six months because of credit for time already served. Hamdan was initially taken into custody in 2001, and in 2006 he successfully challenged President George W. Bush's military commission system when the Supreme Court ruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] that the commission system as initially construed violated US and international law. Congress subsequently passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [DOD materials], which established the current military commissions system.

10:03 PM ET - The Pentagon announced late Tuesday that Hamdan has been transferred to Yemen [press release], where he will serve the remainder of his sentence.

[JURIST] Singapore's High Court [official website] on Tuesday found the Wall Street Journal Asia [media website] in contempt of court over the newspaper's publication of three articles that allegedly undermined the country's judiciary. High Court Justice Tay Yong Kwang ruled that two editorials, "Democracy in Singapore" [text] and "Judging Singapore's Judiciary" [text], as well as a letter to the editor [text] from Singapore Democratic Party [political website] secretary general Chee Soon Juan, implied that the country's judiciary was "subservient" [AFP report] to the ruling People's Action Party [party website]. Tay fined the newspaper $16,500 plus court costs.

Earlier this month, the Singapore Attorney General's Chambers [official website] argued [JURIST report] that the case should be treated as contempt of court rather than libel, and that a contempt finding was a justifiable restriction on free speech in the public interest not contrary to Singapore's constitution [Section 14(1)(a) text]. In July, Singapore's government rejected [JURIST report] criticisms from the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute [official website] after that group concluded that Singapore lacks an independent judiciary and fails to meet international standards of human rights by heavily regulating the international and domestic press and enforcing extreme defamation laws.

[JURIST] Russia's Prosecutor General's Office [official website] on Tuesday announced the indictment [press release, in Russian] of exiled business tycoon Boris Berezovsky [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] for fraud and money laundering. The charges, filed under the Russian Criminal Code [Article 174 text], stem from a deal arranged between Russian car manufacturers AvtoVAZ [corporate website, in Russian] and LogoVAZ that left 5560 cars unpaid for and resulted in the unauthorized use of approximately $24 million. Prosecutors allege that Berezovsky and his associates used the money for investments in real estate, stock in media companies and other expenditures. RIA Novosti has local coverage.

A former associate of Boris Yeltsin and a political opponent of current Russian Prime Minister and former president Vladimir Putin, Berezovsky has been the target of several past criminal proceedings. In March, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office opened an investigation to determine if Berezovsky falsely claimed the country's secret service had targeted him for assassination [JURIST report]. In 2007, he was accused of plotting a coup [JURIST report] against Putin. Berezovsky currently resides in the United Kingdom as a political refugee. Britain has refused Russian extradition requests, leading a Russian court in 2007 to sentence Berezovsky in absentia to six years in prison after he was found guilty [JURIST report] of embezzling 214 million rubles from Russian national airline Aeroflot.

[JURIST] Moscow Military District Court Judge Yevgeny Zubov on Tuesday reopened to the public the trial of three men accused of murdering journalist Anna Politkovskaya [BBC obituary; JURIST news archive] amid increasing confusion and calls from prosecutors for his removal from the case. Last Monday, Zubov ordered the trial to be open [JURIST report], in accordance with the wishes of Politkovskaya's family [AFP report]. Two days later, Zubov ordered the trial closed to the public and media [JURIST report], citing concern for the safety of the jury. A juror later told a Moscow radio station that he and other jurors did not fear for their safety [Moscow Times report], and Russia's Supreme Court later announced that it would review Zubov's decision [JURIST report] to close the trial. Zubov reopened the trial Tuesday as 19 of 20 jurors signed a statement [NYT report] confirming that they had not complained to the judge. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office [official website, in Russian] subsequently requested that Zubov be replaced [BBC report] for allegedly violating procedural rules. Also Tuesday, defense lawyers announced that court documents would show that Politkovskaya's murder was ordered by an unnamed Russian politician [RIA Novosti report]. The Moscow Times has local coverage.

Sergey Khadzhikurbanov and brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov, all from Chechnya, were arrested [JURIST report] in connection with the killing in August 2007. The primary suspect, Rustam Makhmudov, also from Chechnya, has yet to be captured, but Russian authorities have said he is hiding in Western Europe. Closed preliminary hearings in the case began [JURIST report] last month. Politkovskaya, a reporter for the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta [official website] widely known for her stories about human rights abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya, was murdered [JURIST report] after returning to her Moscow apartment building in October 2006.

[JURIST] Judge John Bates of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] on Monday denied [opinion, PDF; order, PDF] a motion by Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] seeking to have the military commission trial against him stopped because he was a minor at the time of his alleged actions against the US. Lawyers for Khadr argued that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [materials] does not grant the commissions jurisdiction over those who commit crimes as minors, that his designation as an "enemy combatant" was unlawful because the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict [text] prohibits a juvenile from being considered a member of an armed group, and that his detention as an adult was also disallowed by the Protocol. In this context, his lawyers sought to have Khadr's trial stopped and have him either released or placed in a rehabilitation program for former child soldiers. Bates refused to address the first two issues, holding that the military commission had priority to consider the questions before they could be appealed to another court. Bates found that he lacked jurisdiction to consider whether Khadr could be held as an adult, holding that under the Supreme Court's ruling Boumediene v. Bush [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] he could consider whether any confinement was appropriate, but not the suitability of Khadr's "conditions of confinement," such as being held as an adult or juvenile.

In October, Khadr's trial was postponed [JURIST report] until January 26, 2009, so that he could receive an independent psychological and psychiatric examination [Globe and Mail report] to determine whether his prior statements to government investigators could be admitted as evidence in the trial. Khadr, now 22, faces possible life imprisonment if convicted of crimes he allegedly committed at the age of 15 while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive]. Khadr was charged [charge sheet, PDF; JURIST report] in April 2007 with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism, and spying.

[JURIST] The British government began issuing identity cards [press release; program backgrounder] Monday to foreign nationals in an effort to curb immigration abuse and to strengthen identity protection. The cards, which are being issued pursuant to the Identity Cards Act 2006 [text and notes; JURIST report], are biometric and contain the cardholder's name, date of birth, nationality, fingerprints [BBC report] and reason for being in the UK. The program is currently voluntary and is focused on students and the partners of permanent UK residents, but the cards will eventually be mandatory, and the government hopes to card 90 percent of foreign nationals by 2015. UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith wrote [text] in a column in Tuesday's Telegraph:

ID cards for foreign nationals will bring real changes to how we control migration by locking foreign nationals to one identity – using fingerprints and facial images. Within three years everyone coming here from outside Europe for more than six months will be given a card showing they have the right to be here and work or study. The National Identity Scheme will deliver a secure and simple proof of ID for all those legally entitled to live and work in the UK – and the majority of people say they welcome identity cards and the benefits they will bring.

[JURIST] The Australian Senate [official website] on Monday approved [Senate Daily Summary, PDF] legislation that would allow same-sex couples to enjoy most of the same rights as heterosexual couples, but would not give same-sex couples the right to marry. The Senate passed both a General Law Reform bill [text, PDF] and a Superannuation bill [text, PDF], which will amend federal laws to provide same-sex couples with equal rights. The new legislation would redefine a "de facto relationship" to include same-sex couples and would give them equal rights in terms of taxation, health care, adoption, and other areas. The bills must now go before the House of Representatives [official website] where they are expected to pass. The Canberra Times has local coverage.

In April, the Australian government announced plans [JURIST report] to end discrimination against same-sex couples in response to a 2007 report [text, PDF] by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission [official website], recommending legislative changes to 58 federal laws [JURIST report] to end discrimination against same-sex couples. A national poll released in June 2007 found that a majority of Australians also support same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive].

[JURIST] A jury in the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Monday convicted [DOJ press release] the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) [ADL backgrounder; LOC archived website; case materials] and five of its officials [Dallas Morning News profiles and verdicts] on a total of 108 counts [superseding indictment, PDF] including conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist group, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to impede and impair the IRS, and filing false tax returns. The initial case against the group and its five officials ended in a mistrial [JURIST report] in October 2007 after three jurors insisted that the verdicts of acquittal read by the court were incorrect. Government officials limited the charges and witnesses [NYT report] against the defendants for retrial and maintained that HLF and its members raised about $12.4 million in support of terrorist groups. Assistant Attorney General for National Security Patrick Rowan said of the guilty verdicts:

Today's verdicts are important milestones in America's efforts against financiers of terrorism. For many years, the Holy Land Foundation used the guise of charity to raise and funnel millions of dollars to the infrastructure of the Hamas terror organization. This prosecution demonstrates our resolve to ensure that humanitarian relief efforts are not used as a mechanism to disguise and enable support for terrorist groups.