[JURIST] The US is planning on accepting into the country [Los Angeles Times report] up to seven Chinese Uighur [JURIST news archive] Muslims currently being held at the Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report] detention center, according to the Los Angeles Times Saturday. Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters that the US would consider accepting the 17 Uighur detainees [JURIST report] who have been cleared for release. The reported decision to accept the Uighurs, who would likely be settled in the country in small groups, drew strong criticism from politicians, including Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) [official website], who released a statement [press release] condemning the move. The Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] is still exploring where to transfer cleared detainees, and has declined to repatriate the Uighurs despite Chinese demands [JURIST report] because they have been linked to a militant separatist group and could face torture upon their return.

Earlier this month, the 17 Uighur detainees filed a petition for certiorari [JURIST report] with the US Supreme Court, asking the Court to grant their release. In February the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit [official website] overruled [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] an October district court order [opinion and order, PDF; JURIST report] supporting the release of the Uighurs into the United states. The circuit court said that such a decision was reserved to either the executive or legislative branch. The US government has determined that the Uighurs are not unlawful enemy combatants [10 USC § 948a text; JURIST news archive], but have been linked with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) [CFR backgrounder], a militant group that calls for separation from China and has been a US-designated terrorist group since 2002.

[JURIST] The African National Congress (ANC) [party website] was formally declared the winner of South African parliamentary elections Saturday, but its win fell short of the two-thirds majority [BBC report] of seats needed to change or amend the country's constitution and pass legislation on its own. The election clears the way for party leader Jacob Zuma [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to be named president upon the reconvening of Parliament of the Republic of South Africa [official website]. A number of opposition parties, including the Congress of the People (COPE) [party website], formed by supporters of Zuma's political rival, former ANC leader and South African president Thabo Mbeki [ANC profile] criticized the ANC during the vote, arguing that a landslide ANC election win would result in too much power - including the power to change the constitution unopposed - being concentrated in the hands of one party. Parliament is expected to reconvene next month [AP report].

Earlier this month, the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) [official website] decided to drop corruption charges [JURIST report] against Zuma after a long legal battle. In January, the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa [official website] reinstated the charges, which had been invalidated [JURIST reports] in September. Zuma was first charged with corruption in 2005, but those charges were later dismissed [JURIST report] because prosecutors failed to follow proper procedures.

[JURIST] The Bundestag [official website, in German], the lower house of the German parliament, approved a bill [text, PDF; bill materials, both in German] Friday restricting the use of genetic testing on humans. Specific provisions of the legislation, also know as GenDG [bill backgrounder, in German], include requiring a person to consent and to consult a doctor before testing takes place, requiring both the mother and father to consent to a paternity test before it is performed, and preventing employers and insurance companies from requiring genetic testing except in specific circumstances. Germany's Health Minister Ulla Schmidt [official website, in German] praised the passage of the legislation, saying [statement text, in German] the bill achieves necessary protection for individuals by establishing mandatory rules and high hurdles for genetic studies. According to Schmidt's statement, the legislation does not require approval by the Bundesrat [official website, in German], Germany's upper house.

A genetic testing bill had been debated in Germany for over 10 years [DW report] because of the controversy over ethical issues. The legislation is similar to a US law approved [JURIST report] in 2008 by then- president George W. Bush, which was aimed at preventing employers and health insurers from discriminating against people who have a genetic predisposition to disease. Under the law, employers are barred from basing hiring and firing decisions on genetic risk or predisposition, while health insurers would not be permitted to deny coverage based on genetic information.

[JURIST] UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak [official profile, DOC] said Friday that the US must prosecute Justice Department (DOJ) [official website] lawyers who drafted four recently released top secret memos [JURIST report], which outlined controversial CIA interrogation techniques and their legal rationale. During a news conference in Geneva, Nowak said the US is obligated [AP report] by the UN Convention Against Torture [text], which requires prosecution in all cases in which there is evidence of torture [JURIST news archive], because those who wrote the memos defined torture in a very limited way in order to justify its use. Nowak emphasized that this demonstrates complicity or participation in torture [DPA report] as stated in the convention. If the US does not prosecute the memo drafters, Nowak insisted that other countries party to the convention have a duty to do so under the concept of universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder]. Additionally, Nowak said that while he trusted US President Barack Obama to conduct a full investigation, any investigation had to be independent and thorough and prosecutors would have to demonstrate that the memos were written with intent to encourage the use of torture.

Last week, Nowak criticized [JURIST report] Obama's decision [JURIST report] not to prosecute Bush-era CIA agents who allegedly used torture. Nowak said there was nonetheless still a possibility of trying agents in American courts, because Obama did not grant them amnesty. Obama's decision not to prosecute came on the same day as the release of the memos in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [text] lawsuit [materials] filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] during the Bush administration. Obama said that due to widespread speculation about the memos, it was in the best interest of the US to publicly acknowledge their existence.