[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday ordered [text, PDF] a federal court in Georgia to consider the case of death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis [defense website]. Davis had filed an original writ of habeas corpus [cert. petition, PDF] directly in the Supreme Court. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a concurring opinion, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Antonin Scalia filed a dissenting opinion [text, PDF], joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, writing:

Today this Court takes the extraordinary step — one not taken in nearly 50 years — of instructing a district court to adjudicate a state prisoner's petition for an original writ of habeas corpus. The Court proceeds down this path even though every judicial and executive body that has examined petitioner's stale claim of innocence has been unpersuaded, and (to make matters worst) even though it would be impossible for the District Court to grant any relief. Far from demonstrating, as this Court's Rule 20.4(a) requires, "exceptional circumstances" that "warrant the exercise of the Court's discretionary powers," petitioner's claim is a sure loser. Transferring his petition to the District Court is a confusing exercise that can serve no purpose except to delay the State's execution of its lawful criminal judgment.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] said Monday that it was required to defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) [text] as long as "reasonable arguments can be made in support of [its] constitutionality" despite the administration's belief that the law is discriminatory. Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, a California couple, filed suit [case materials] alleging that DOMA, which denies federal recognition for same-sex marriages performed by states, unconstitutionally infringes on their civil liberties. Urging the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website] to dismiss the suit [brief, PDF], the DOJ argued that the "Administration does not support DOMA as a matter of policy," but is nonetheless required to defend it against challenge if it survives rational basis review. In this case, the DOJ argued, congress was justified in allowing the matter to be resolved by the states before taking federal action. DOJ spokesperson Tracy Schmaler reiterated [AP report] the position, saying that the department is not free to enforce only those laws with which it agrees, but must defend all federal laws until they are repealed or changed by congress.

Last month, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley [official profile] filed suit challenging [JURIST report] DOMA on the grounds that it interferes with the state's right to define and regulate marriage. Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex marriages [JURIST report] in 2004 and has since issued licenses to more than 16,000 same-sex couples. In March, a group of Massachusetts plaintiffs who are or have been married under the state's same-sex marriage law filed a similar lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging DOMA. Although Maine became the fifth state to allow same-sex marriages [JURIST report] in May, the Stand for Marriage Maine coalition [advocacy website] announced last month that they have collected more than the requisite 55,087 signatures [press release] needed to put a veto on the November ballot, allowing voters to decide on the law. Also in July, a Washington, DC law took effect [JURIST report] that recognizes same-sex marriages performed in other states or jurisdictions. Currently, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa [JURIST reports] all allow same-sex marriage.

[JURIST] Former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba [BBC profile] was acquitted Monday of charges stealing money from the country's treasury while in office from 1991-2001. Chiluba and two Zambian businessmen, Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu, faced a total of 12 counts of theft of public funds for their alleged involvement in taking $488,000 when the treasury deposited payments to two US security firms into a London bank account controlled by the Zambia Security and Intelligence Services (ZSIS). The court found insufficient evidence to convict Chiluba, but Chungu, the former director-general of ZSIS, and Kabwe were founding guilty of being in possession of stolen funds, and Chungu was sentenced to nine months in prison. Chiluba's wife Regina was sentenced [BBC report] to three-and-a-half years in prison in March on a separate charge of receiving stolen funds. Prosecutors plan to appeal [NYT report] Chiluba's acquittal.

Chiluba was ordered to stand trial [JURIST report] on the corruption charges in February 2008. In a separate case, Chiluba was ordered by a London court in July 2007 to pay $58 million in fines [JURIST report] to Zambia to compensate for other funds stolen during Chiluba's decade in power. The suit was brought in Britain [BBC report] by Zambian officials because Chiluba and his associates held the assets in the UK and other European countries.

[JURIST] The Iraqi Cabinet on Monday approved a draft bill that would require a referendum on the US-Iraq Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) [text, PDF], which allows US troops to remain in the country until the end of 2011. When the SOFA was originally reached and entered into effect on January 1, Iraqi lawmakers called for a referendum that was to have been held in July, but the referendum was never held. Under the proposed bill [Reuters report], which must still be approved by the Iraqi Parliament, the referendum would occur during the parliamentary elections, scheduled for January 16. If the SOFA were rejected by Iraqi voters, US troops would have only one year to withdraw [Washington Post report], which would result in a January 2011 withdrawal - nearly a year ahead of schedule. No parliamentary vote on the bill has been scheduled.

Under the agreement, US troops withdraw from Iraqi urban centers at the end of June. The SOFA was signed [JURIST report] in December and took effect on January 1. The agreement was negotiated between Iraq and the US in anticipation of the 2009 expiration of the UN mandate [text] that allowed the presence of US military in Iraq. In addition to setting the official deadlines for troop withdrawal, the SOFA gives Iraqi courts limited jurisdiction over American military personnel and eliminates immunity [JURIST reports] for US defense contractors working within Iraq.

[JURIST] The government of Fiji is seeking foreign judges to replace judicial officers whose appointments were revoked after an April suspension [JURIST report] of the country's constitution, according to a Sunday report [text] from Sri Lanka's Sunday Times. Fijian Chief Justice Anthony Gates interviewed candidates in Colombo, Sri Lanka, last week and met with the Sri Lankan Chief Justice Asoka de Silva and Attorney General Mohan Peiris to discuss the possibility of allowing Sri Lankan judges to serve two-year rotations in the High Court and magistrate courts of Fiji. Gates said that Sri Lankan judges could serve in Fijian courts by virtue of the common origins of the two countries' legal systems. Fijian Attorney General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum [official profile] confirmed that they were seeking qualified judges [Fiji Live report] from other Commonwealth [official website] member nations to fill vacant seats.

Last month, Fijian Prime Minister Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama [BBC profile] announced [JURIST report] plans to establish a new constitution by September 2013, in advance of elections planned for September 2014. In April, President Ratu Josefa Iloilo [official profile] suspended Fiji's 1988 Constitution [text] and revoked the appointment [statement text] of all judicial officers after a ruling [JURIST report] from the Fiji Court of Appeal declaring the appointment of the military government following a 2006 coup d'etat [JURIST report] unconstitutional. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights then urged Iloilo to reinstate the deposed judges [JURIST report]. Concerns about the constitutional suspension have also been expressed [statement text] by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US State Department [official website] spokesperson Richard Aker, who said that it was a step backwards [press release] for the country, and called on Fiji to continue to recognize rights outlined in the suspended constitution.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website] must indict and try senior Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) officers suspected of war crimes, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged in a letter [text; press release] released Monday. HRW had previously written [letter text] to Chief Prosecutor Hassan Jallow [official profile] to urge him to prosecute RPF officers suspected of killing between 25,000 and 45,000 civilians during the 1994 Rwandan genocide [BBC backgrounder], and HRW was responding to a letter [text, PDF] in which Jallow said that there was not enough evidence. In its response, HRW said:

We continue to believe that your mandate as Chief Prosecutor at the ICTR will not be fulfilled until you pursue all senior commanders responsible for atrocities committed in Rwanda in 1994. Your office has successfully pursued many senior leaders behind the genocide, but the same cannot be said for senior RPF commanders who directed the slaughter of 30,000 civilians. The fact that other genocidaires are still at large is important but does not negate the need for the ICTR to pursue senior commanders allegedly involved in serious crimes from all sides. It would be a failure of justice - not merely victor's justice - if you do not vigorously investigate and prosecute senior RPF officials because they are currently senior officials or military leaders in Rwanda.

[JURIST] UK human rights group Reprieve [advocacy website] announced Monday that it is initiating legal action [filing letter, PDF; press release] against the British government over the rendition of two terrorism suspects to Afghanistan. The two men were arrested by British troops in Iraq in 2004 and sent to the US detention facility at Bagram Air Base [JURIST news archive; GlobalSecurity backgrounder] in Afghanistan. Reprieve claims that the British government had never admitted to the rendition until UK Secretary of State for Defence John Hutton [official profile] gave a statement [MOD press release] to the UK House of Commons [official website] providing details of participation [JURIST report] with US forces in the rendition of terrorism suspects from Iraq to US detention in Afghanistan, possibly by way of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive] program. The identity of the two men has not been officially revealed, and Reprieve is suing in order to get more information. Reprieve director Clive Stafford Smith said:

These two men have been held in appalling conditions for five years, and for all that time the British Government chose to do nothing. While we have not been able to identify their full names, we have learned that at least one of the men is now suffering from very serious mental problems as a result of his mistreatment. We have an urgent moral, as well as legal, duty to repair the damage his rendition has caused.

[JURIST] Iraqi Shiite militia are systematically torturing and killing gay men [press release] without government repercussions, according to report [text, PDF] released Monday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. According to the report, violence against men perceived as gay or too "feminine" has recently been on the rise, with death tolls possibly in the hundreds. Although consensual homosexual conduct is not criminalized in Iraq, there are several provisions of the criminal code that are used to target homosexuals and to reduce punishments for those who commit crimes against homosexuals. HRW claims that these crimes violate both shari'a and international human rights laws:

They also strike at the principles of human rights. International human rights law safeguards the right to privacy, including the right to an intimate life undisturbed by surveillance or violence. It protects the right to free expression, including the right to express one's personhood through dress and behavior. It absolutely prohibits, in all circumstances, all forms of torture and inhuman treatment. It guarantees the right to life, including the right to effective state protection.

[JURIST] Iranian officials on Sunday began the trial of at least 25 people detained during protests following the recent contested presidential election [JURIST news archive]. The defendants are accused [AFP report] of a range of crimes including participating in illegal demonstrations and vandalizing public property. More than 100 protesters were put on trial [JURIST report] earlier this month, bringing the total number of defendants on trial to around 140. Also this weekend, Iran's Supreme Leader appointed [Reuters report] Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani to head the country's judiciary. It has been reported that Larijani was hesitant to accept the position because of the controversy surrounding the trials of election protesters. Larijani replaces Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, whose 10-year term has expired.

Iran has been experiencing turmoil in Tehran and elsewhere since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] was declared the winner of the disputed June 12 election. Ahmadinejad was recently sworn in for a second term. Last week, three UN human rights experts called on Iran's Revolutionary Court to reject protesters' confessions obtained through torture [JURIST report]. Earlier this month, Iran's Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dorri Najafabadi acknowledged [JURIST report] that some protesters arrested after the election were tortured. In early July, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] reported that some arrested protesters were beaten, deprived of sleep, and threatened with torture in an effort to force false confessions [JURIST report]. Human rights groups have called arrests political repression [JURIST report], saying that Iranian forces are using the protests to "engage in what appears to be a major purge of reform-oriented individuals." Last month, Iran released [JURIST report] some 140 detainees.