[JURIST] Two courts in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality sentenced [Xinhua report] six individuals to death on Tuesday for their connections with organized crime gangs. The First Intermediate People's Court sentenced two gang leaders to death and two other members to death with a two-year reprieve. Five other members of the gang were sentenced to 11 years to life in prison for violent crimes committed over an eight-year period. In another trial at the Third Intermediate People's Court, the leader of a 22-member gang was sentenced to death and his accomplice sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve. The gang had been held responsible for the killing of one person and injuring at least four others last year. The gang's other 20 members were given sentences of one to 17 years. The convictions are the first in a series of organized crime trials expected to continue over the coming weeks.

Last week, the Urumqi People's Court sentenced [JURIST report] six individuals to death and three to life in prison for their role in the July riots in Urumqi [JURIST news archive], the capital of China's Xinjiang province. Earlier in the week, six other individuals were sentenced to death, and one more was sentenced to life in prison, for their roles in the riots between Han Chinese and Uighur residents that claimed the lives of approximately 200 people. In July, China said that it planned to reduce [China Daily report] the number of executions it conducts. Anti-death-penalty group Hands Off Cain has said that China continues to account for more executions [JURIST report] than any other country. In 2008, the country executed at least 5,000 people, or more than 87 percent of the world's total. Last year, China's chief justice instructed judges to impose harsh sentences [JURIST report], including the death penalty, for violent crimes.

[JURIST] The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany [official website, in German] rejected appeals by alleged Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk [NNDB profile, JURIST news archive] on Wednesday, setting the stage for his trial to begin next month. The rejected appeals [AP report] were filed in regards to Demjanjuk's health issues and the decision to keep him in custody. The decision upholds an earlier determination by the Munich Regional Court that he is fit to stand trial [JURIST report]. Demjanjuk faces 27,900 accessory counts stemming from his alleged involvement as a guard at the Sobibor [Death Camps backgrounder] concentration camp. The former Ohio resident was deported by the US in May after exhausting his appeals and after the German courts rejected his bid to block extradition [JURIST reports]. The court's decision that the trial may proceed is final and cannot be appealed.

In similar proceedings, Spanish judge Ismeal Moreno issued arrest warrants [JURIST report] last month for US residents Johann Leprich and Anton Tittjung and Austrian resident Josias Kumpf who are accused of being former Nazi guards. Demjanjuk is considered a fourth suspect in the case, but prosecutors in that case did not seek a warrant for his arrest in light of the German proceedings. A Spanish prosecutor asked in May that arrest warrants be issued [JURIST report] under Spain's universal jurisdiction [AI backgrounder] doctrine, which gives Spain jurisdiction over foreign torture, terrorism, and war crimes only if the case is not subject to the legal system of the country involved. The warrants were issued for the alleged torture and disappearance [El Pais report, in Spanish] of more than 4,300 Spaniards at the Mauthausen, Sachsenhausen, and Flossenburg concentration camps.

[JURIST] A Malaysian appeals court on Tuesday rejected a defamation suit filed by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim [official profile; JURIST news archive] against former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad [BBC profile]. The suit, which alleged defamation in connection with allegations that Anwar is a homosexual, was dismissed [AFP report] by the appeals court after Mahathir's lawyers complained that the appeal was written in English rather than Bahasa Malaysia, the country's official language. Anwar is now considering an appeal to the Federal Court, Malaysia's highest court.

Anwar's appeal comes after his 2007 defamation suit was rejected by the High Court [JURIST reports]. Anwar filed that suit after Mahathir allegedly suggested at a human rights conference in 2006 that Anwar was unfit for office because of his supposed homosexuality. Anwar had previously sued Mahathir for defamation in 1999 but the case was rejected at the time as "unsustainable." Anwar was dismissed from office in 1998 over financial policy disagreements and has faced criminal charges [JURIST report] of corruption and sodomy.

[JURIST] Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor [official profile] called Wednesday for an independent Israeli investigation into the war crimes allegations detailed in the Goldstone report [text, PDF], which accuses Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) [official website] and Hamas [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] fighters of war crimes during last winter's Operation Cast Lead [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. The Israeli government has been resisting [JURIST report] mounting pressure from the international community to address the findings of the report, which also suggests referring charges to the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] in the event that credible internal investigations are not commenced on both sides. Meridor's statement [Haaretz report] comes amid the consistent refusal [JURIST report] by the Israeli government to conduct such an investigation and the assertion that anti-Israeli bias has influenced [JURIST report] the findings of the report. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official profile] has argued [Haaretz report] that an ICC investigation into IDF conduct in the Gaza conflict would make the military leaders of other states fighting terrorism vulnerable to international indictment. This has prompted him to direct [Al Jazeera report] the government to create plans for a "world-wide campaign" to change the international law of war following a special cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

On Friday, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] endorsed [JURIST report] the final report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict [official website], which urges Israel and Hamas to investigate the conduct of their fighters during the 22-day war, or face referral to the ICC. Israeli officials have faced threat of arrest [JURIST report] during travels abroad recently under war crimes charges arising in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead. Richard Goldstone, head of the Gaza mission, presented his findings [JURIST report] to the UNHRC last month. The Goldstone mission began [JURIST report] its field operations in Gaza in June, entering Gaza through Egypt's Rafah crossing after Israel announced that it would not cooperate with the investigation, and concluded hearings [JURIST report] in July. Goldstone was appointed to head the investigation [JURIST report] in April, amid strong criticism [JURIST report] from Israel.

[JURIST] More than 40 Uighur men have disappeared [HRW release] since being detained by Chinese security forces following the July Xinjiang riots [JURIST news archive], according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] report [text, PDF] released Tuesday. HRW alleges that in the days following the riots, the Chinese police conducted large-scale sweeps of Uighur neighborhoods in Urumqi, unlawfully arresting young men. This was followed by the disappearances of many of the detainees. According to the report, the enforced disappearances place the detainees outside the scope of the protections of the law, while failing to disclose the detainees' whereabouts and declining to acknowledge their rights and liberties. The HRW report indicates that the victims of the disappearances were mostly young Uighur men in their 20s, the youngest being 14 years old. While HRW has documented 43 disappearances, the advocacy group suggests that the number of disappeared persons is likely much higher. HRW Asia director Brad Adams said:

China should only use official places of detention, so that everyone being held can contact family members and legal counsel. "Disappearing" people is not the behavior of countries aspiring to global leadership. ... The United States, the European Union, and China's other international partners should demand clear answers about what happened to those who have disappeared in Xinjiang. They should not let trade relations or other political considerations lead them to treat China differently than other countries which carry out this horrific practice.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] responded [press release] Tuesday to a New York Times editorial [text] written by former chairman Robert Bernstein that accused the group of bias against Israel. HRW responded that the group covers "open" societies such as Israel and the US as well as "closed" ones. The group defended its coverage of Israel, saying:

Human Rights Watch does not devote more time and energy to Israel than to other countries in the region, or in the world. We've produced more than 1,700 reports, letters, news releases, and other commentaries on the Middle East and North Africa since January 2000, and the vast majority of these were about countries other than Israel. Furthermore, our Middle East division is only one of 16 research programs at Human Rights Watch. The work on Israel is a tiny fraction of Human Rights Watch's work as a whole.

[JURIST] The US Senate [official website] voted 79-19 [roll call vote] Tuesday in favor of a bill [HR 2892 materials] permitting Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees to be brought to the US for trial. The measure was part of a $42.7 billion spending bill for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [official website].While the detainees still may not be released on US soil or housed in US jails, the bill requires the Obama administration to develop a plan [RTT report] for the anticipated closure date of Guantanamo Bay in January 2010. Navy Rear Admiral Tom Copeman has announced that he can clear the base of all detainees [Miami Herald report] given only 10 days notice and appropriate logistical support. Meanwhile, a group of retired generals has launched a national ad campaign [AP report] in support of closing the facility. Tuesday's bill also extends the life of the E-Verify program [NYT report], which permits employers to check on the immigration status of their new employees. The bill will now go to President Barack Obama for his signature.

The House of Representatives approved the bill [JURIST report] last week. Members of the Homeland Security Appropriations Conference Committee [list, PDF] reached an agreement [JURIST report] earlier this month to allow Guantanamo detainees to be transferred to the US for trial. The agreement came shortly after US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] told reporters that Congressional opposition may cause the Obama administration to miss its January deadline for closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, echoing prior statements [JURIST reports] by top administration officials. Also this month, the House passed a non-binding motion [JURIST report] to instruct the conferees to prohibit the transfer of detainees to the US for prosecution or incarceration. The motion instructed House committee members to insist on such prohibitions during negotiations.

[JURIST] Paris prosecutors requested Tuesday that former prime minister Dominique de Villepin [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] receive an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a €45,000 fine for his role in an alleged plot to defame several businessmen including current President Nicolas Sarkozy [official website, in French; JURIST news archive]. Prosecutors claim de Villepin failed to stop the circulation of false documents [France 24 report] alleging Sarkozy profited from illegal arms deals when the two were vying for the presidency. The charges against de Villepin carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. De Villepin denied breaking the law [Parisien report, in French] and claimed Tuesday that Sarkozy ordered the prosecution for personal and political reasons. A verdict is expected early next year.

De Villepin and his alleged co-conspirators went on trial [JURIST report] last month. Last November, de Villepin was ordered to stand trial [JURIST report] for "complicity in slanderous denunciation" in connection with a long-running political scandal known as the Clearstream Affair [BBC backgrounder]. In 2006, French authorities searched de Villepin's home and questioned [JURIST reports] him for 17 hours in connection with the scandal. De Villepin's political image was tainted by the allegations as well as by his advance of an unpopular youth labor law [JURIST news archive] during his time as prime minister.