[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] appeared Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] to answer questions regarding the decision to try five men accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 terrorist attacks [JURIST news archive] in federal court. In his opening remarks [transcript; video], Holder refuted the arguments made by his predecessor [Washington Times report] and other lawmakers that the decision to try these men in civilian courts represents a "pre-9/11" mentality. Additionally, he sought to allay concerns voiced by critics that civilian courts are inadequate to handle the cases of suspected terrorists and will provide a public forum to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed [JURIST news archive], the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks:

Judges in federal court have firm control over the conduct of defendants and other participants in their courtrooms, and when the 9/11 conspirators are brought to trial, I have every confidence that the presiding judge will ensure appropriate decorum. And if [Mohammad] makes the same statements he made in his military commission proceedings, I have every confidence the nation and the world will see him for the coward he is. I’m not scared of what [Mohammad] will have to say at trial – and no one else needs to be either.

[JURIST] The British High Court [official website] ruled [judgment text] Wednesday that the government may withhold evidence from seven claimants suing UK intelligence services MI5 and MI6 [official websites] for their roles in alleged torture at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The court ruled that the agencies can rely on the evidence in their defense without disclosing it to the claimants. The ruling marks a departure [Independent report] from the "public interest immunity" procedure, which weighed the public interest in non-disclosure against the interests of justice. If the evidence was found to be so sensitive that it should not be revealed, the information could not be used by either side. The court indicated that a "closed material" procedure, where a "special advocate" reviews evidence not disclosed by the government and acts on behalf of the claimants, would be appropriate in this case. The ruling was condemned by Amnesty International [advocacy website], and lawyers representing the men have indicated they will appeal the decision.

The ruling comes amid criticism of an October ruling by the High Court ordering disclosure [JURIST reports] of portions of previously redacted text regarding the alleged torture of Binyam Mohamed [JURIST news archive], one of the seven men involved in the civil suit. UK officials have expressed concern that the release of alleged torture information would pose a risk to the national security of the UK and its relations with the US.

[JURIST] The US Senate [official website] on Tuesday rejected an attempt to bar using federal funds to build or modify prisons in the US to hold detainees from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. By a mostly party-line 57-43 vote [roll call vote], the Senate defeated an amendment [S AMDT 2774 text, PDF] to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act [text, PDF; HR 3082 materials], proposed by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) [official website], which would have prevented federal funds from being used to construct or modify prison facilities in the US to hold Guantanamo detainees. The action suggests congressional Democrats may be lining up behind President Obama's vision for closing [JURIST report] the Guantanamo military prison. The Senate approved [roll call vote] the $133.9 billion fiscal 2010 spending bill after defeating the amendment, which Illinois officials feared could have complicated the Obama administration’s plans to move [JURIST report] Guantanamo detainees to the Thomson Correctional Facility [IDOC backgrounder], a maximum security prison in Northwestern Illinois. The proposed measure was also seen as a hindrance to President Obama's administration plans to try suspected terrorists in civilian courts in New York City.

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder [official website] announced [JURIST report] that the government will pursue federal charges in a Manhattan district court against five men accused of conspiring to commit the 9/11 terrorist attacks [JURIST news archive]. Earlier this month, the US Senate voted 54-45 [JURIST report] to defeat an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have prevented Guantanamo detainees accused of involvement in 9/11 from being tried in federal courts. In October, US President Barack Obama signed [JURIST report] into law the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010 [HR 2892 materials] which allows for Guantanamo Bay detainees to be transferred to the US for prosecution.

[JURIST] Iraqi Sunni Arab Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi [personal website, in Arabic] on Wednesday announced his veto of the first article of the recently passed election law [JURIST report] at a press conference [transcript, in Arabic] in Baghdad. Hashemi said further amendments are necessary [AFP report] before the law will be acceptable, specifically calling for increased representation for Iraqis living abroad. An estimated 1.5 million Iraqis live outside the country, and many are thought to be Sunnis who fled after Saddam Hussein's Sunni regime fell. Hashemi is one of two Iraqi vice presidents who serve with the president on the Presidency Council [official website, in Arabic]. The Iraqi Constitution [text, PDF] requires that the Presidency Council unanimously approve legislation.

The constitution also requires that the election law be approved by the Presidency Council within 60 days of the election, which was scheduled for January 18 of next year. After Hashemi's announcement, the Independent High Election Commission [official website, in Arabic] suspended their preparations for the election. Further debate on the proposed law will likely delay the elections, which may affect the planned withdrawal of US military forces from Iraq. The elections may also include 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. A draft bill requiring the referendum was approved by the Iraqi cabinet [JURIST report] in August. If the SOFA were rejected by Iraqi voters, US troops would have only one year to withdraw, which would result in a January 2011 withdrawal - nearly a year ahead of schedule.

[JURIST] Virginia authorities on Tuesday executed a prisoner by electric chair [JURIST news archive], conducting the country's first execution by electrocution in over a year. Former Army counterintelligence worker Larry Bill Elliott, who was convicted of a 2001 double murder, was executed Tuesday night after Virginia Governor Tim Kaine [official website] declined to intervene [press release]. The US Supreme Court [official website] had denied a request for a stay [order, PDF] on Monday. Virginia law allows condemned prisoners to choose lethal injection or electrocution.

The country's last execution by electric chair took place in South Carolina in June 2008. Virginia last executed a prisoner by electrocution [JURIST report] in 2006. In 2008, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that execution by electric chair is "cruel and unusual punishment" and is therefore unconstitutional. The electric chair remains an option in seven states, with two more allowing it only if lethal injection [JURIST news archive] is ruled unconstitutional.

[JURIST] An Iranian court has sentenced five people to death for their roles in protests that took place after this summer's disputed elections [JURIST news archive], according to state media Tuesday. Another 81 people have been sentenced to prison [Al-Jazeera report] for up to 15 years. The names of those sentenced to death are unknown, and all have been sentenced for their cooperation with terrorist groups. All appeals have already been considered [BBC report] and the verdict as handed down by the court is final.

Iran began trying some of the arrested protesters [JURIST report] in August. The protesters on trial were charged with crimes [PressTV report] ranging from vandalism and organizing riots to sending pictures of the protests to "enemy media." In July Iranian officials announced [JURIST report] a plan to either press charges against or release most of those held after the riots. The government released 140 of those initially detained and closed one prison holding protesters after Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] and other groups alleged that some protesters were beaten, deprived of sleep, and threatened with torture in an effort to force false confessions [report text; JURIST report]. Also in July, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) [advocacy website] reported that the number of deaths that occurred at the protests exceeded government reports [press release; JURIST report].

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama signed an executive order [text] Tuesday creating a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force [press release] to be headed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] as lead agency. The task force, which continues the work of and replaces the federal government's Corporate Fraud Task Force (CFTC) [official website], is charged with building on "efforts already underway to combat mortgage, securities and corporate fraud by increasing coordination and fully utilizing the resources and expertise of the government's law enforcement and regulatory apparatus." Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Attorney General Eric Holder [official profiles] say the group will act aggressively to combat fraud and and prevent another economic meltdown. Holder will convene the first meeting of the task force within 30 days.

This latest effort to battle corporate fraud is part of a wide-ranging plan of financial reform [JURIST news archives] that includes new Senate legislation and executive proposals [JURIST reports] intending to strengthen legislation and limit loopholes. Members of the Obama administration have proposed strengthened regulations and increasing restrictions on financial institutions [JURIST report] in response to the current crisis.