[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] on Thursday passed a bill [HR 2647 materials] that amends the Military Commissions Act of 2006 [text, PDF] to provide suspected terrorists with greater due process rights. The Military Commissions Act of 2009 [text, PDF] was approved by a vote of 281-146 [roll call] as part of the National Defense Authorization Act granting $681 billion in military appropriations for the 2010 fiscal year. Among the bill's provisions are limitations on the use of hearsay or coerced evidence and greater defense access to witnesses and evidence. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] said that while the bill represents an improvement over the current system, it still contains unconstitutional provisions [press release]:

While this bill contains substantial improvements to the current military commissions, the system remains fatally flawed and contrary to basic principles of American justice. While the bill takes positive steps by restricting coerced and hearsay evidence and providing greater defense counsel resources, it still falls short of providing the due process required by the Constitution. The military commissions were created to circumvent the Constitution and result in quick convictions, not to achieve real justice.

[JURIST] The US Deparment of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday rescinded [rule, PDF] a rule that would have required employers to fire workers whose information did not match Social Security Administration (SSA) [official website] records. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), National Immigration Law Center (NILC) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) [advocacy websites] filed suit [case materials] against DHS in 2007 challenging the "no-match" rule [NILC backgrounder, PDF], concerned that inaccurate records and clerical errors would threaten legal US workers. Calling the issuance of the final rule a "victory for workers," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said [press release]:

The "no match" program was a flawed and ineffective immigration enforcement tool that would have hurt U.S. citizens and other authorized workers. Employers have been able to game the immigration system for too long. We need comprehensive immigration reform that respects workers' rights, protects our borders and holds employers accountable.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives [official website] on Thursday approved a bill [HR 2647 materials] that extends the definition of federal hate crimes to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act [text, PDF] was passed 281-146 [roll call] as part of the conference report authorizing $681 billion in military appropriations for the 2010 fiscal year. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) [official website] welcomed [press release] the bill's passage:

This nation was founded on the promise of pluralism; a commitment to equality and opportunity; and the belief that "liberty and justice for all" is not simply an empty pledge – it rests at the core of our identity as a people. No American should ever have to suffer persecution or violence because of who they are, how they look, or what they believe

[JURIST] The accused leader of the so-called "Toronto 18" [Toronto Star backgrounder; JURIST news archive] Zakaria Amara pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of planning to bomb three targets within the province of Ontario in 2006. Those targets included the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service office in Toronto, as well as a military base between Toronto and Ottawa. Amara is the fifth member of the group [CP report] to plead guilty or be convicted in the plot, and, because of his leadership status, likely faces life in prison [Globe and Mail report], though sentencing will not take place for several weeks. Charges are still pending against six of the suspects, including the alleged co-leader of the group.

Last week, a member of the group, Ali Mohamed Dirie, was sentenced to seven years in prison [JURIST report] for his part in the plot, while another, Saad Gaya, pleaded guilty. One month prior, the first of the group to plead guilty, Saad Khalid, was sentenced to 14 years in prison [JURIST report], though the Canadian government is seeking to alter that sentence, after the court credited him seven years [Reuters report] for time already served. In May, the first of the suspects to be convicted was sentenced and released [JURIST report], with the court citing time served.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] announced Friday that Kuwaiti Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Khaled Al-Mutairi has been returned to his home country [press release]. The US government alleged that Al-Mutairi had fought against American troops in Afghanistan, but in his almost eight years at the facility, no charges were ever filed. Al-Mutairi maintains that he had traveled to Afghanistan to provide monetary support for schools. In his home country, Al-Mutairi will participate in a rehabilitation program [AFP report] set up by the Kuwaiti government, designed to help former Guantanamo detainees recover and reintegrate into civilian life. The DOJ also announced that a second detainee, whose identity has not been released, was released to Belgium. Al-Mutairi's release leaves 222 detainees who must be dealt with before the Obama administration's goal of closing the facility [JURIST report] can be realized.

Al-Mutairi's release was ordered [JURIST report] by federal judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly of the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website] when she granted his petition [opinion, PDF] for habeas corpus in July. Al-Mutairi was one of several Kuwaiti detainees remaining at Guantanamo. Most recently, Kollar-Kotelly ordered the release JURIST report] of Fouad Al Rabiah, another Kuwaiti man who had been held for seven years under suspicion of aiding the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Two weeks before that order, Kollar-Kotelly denied the petition [JURIST report] of Kuwaiti detainee Fawzi Khalid Abdullah Fahad Al Odah, who admitted to traveling to Afghanistan to meet with the Taliban.