[JURIST] Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert [official profile; JURIST news archive] was named a suspect Thursday in an investigation into the Holyland bribery scandal that occurred during his time as mayor of Jerusalem. It is expected that law enforcement will interrogate [Ynet report] Olmert over the alleged bribery scandal in which top Jerusalem officials are believed to have taken bribes for enabling the construction of a high-rise luxury housing development. Seven former officials have been arrested including former Jerusalem mayor Uri Lupolianski, who was deputy mayor under Olmert. Lupolianski accused [Ynet report] Olmert of being responsible for the scandal, saying the deputy mayor is nothing more than a mere title with no real authority. Police believe [BBC report] Olmert alone received $940,000 to approve zoning change, rejecting hundreds of objections, to allow for a twelve-fold increase in the number of residential units allowed in the area, enabling the construction of a high-rise complex. Olmert is denying involvement in the scandal.

Olmert has been embroiled in accusations of scandal for much of his political career. He is already facing trial [JURIST report], the first of a former or current Israeli prime minister, for corruption and fraud charges that led to his resignation from being prime minister in 2008. He is accused of illegally accepting cash contributions from an American businessman, double billing [JURIST reports] travel expenses to the state and charitable donors, and giving his former law partner access to state information. In April 2007, Olmert was investigated for improperly favoring his supporters [JURIST report] in distributing business grants during his time as trade minister. In January 2007, the Israeli Ministry of Justice announced plans to launch an investigation [JURIST report] into allegations that he promoted the interests of two business associates during the 2005 state sale of Bank Leumi [corporate website].

[JURIST] Victims of paramilitary violence in Colombia filed suit [complaint, PDF] Wednesday against Chiquita Brand International [corporate website], which has admitted to funding a right-wing paramilitary group in Colombia. In the complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida [official website], 242 Colombians alleged that they had been seriously injured or had family members killed by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) [CDI backgrounder]. The AUC has been accused of mass killings during the Colombia guerrilla warfare movement before disarmament in 2003. The plaintiffs, who are seeking over $1 billion in damages, brought suit under a 1992 law that allows US citizens to sue for terrorist acts committed by US firms abroad. The complaint alleges that Chiquita aided and abetted in the murders and provided material support and resources to terrorists.

In February, a federal judge ruled [JURIST report] that a lawsuit accusing Chiquita of assisting Marxist rebels who killed Colombian missionaries may go forward. The suit was brought [Palm Beach Post report] by family members of five North American missionaries who had worked for the New Tribes Mission (NTM) [mission website] in South America and were killed in separate incidents between 1995 and 1996. Chiquita admitted it had paid AUC for protection of its workers but it argued that it did not condone the killings. In 2007, Chiquita was fined $25 million [JURIST report] after it admitted to making payments of around $1.7 million from 1997 to 2004 to AUC. Following that admission, hundreds of family members of Colombians killed by FARC filed lawsuits in the US against Chiquita under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) [text]. In January, Chiquita settled [Bloomberg report] a shareholder lawsuit over the illegal payments.

[JURIST] Pakistan's Senate [official website] on Thursday unanimously passed a constitutional amendment [text, PDF] that would curtail the powers of the president. The 18th Amendment Bill would reverse the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile, JURIST news archive] by transferring presidential powers to the office of the prime minister [official website], effectively reserving the presidency as a figurehead. Among other changes, the president would no longer have the power to dissolve parliament, dismiss the prime minister, or appoint the chief of the armed forces. Because Pakistan's lower house, the National Assembly, unanimously passed [JURIST report] the bill last week, the amendment will now go to President Asif Ali Zardari [official website] to be signed into law.

The introduction of the bill comes amid controversy over reopening corruption investigations against Zardari. Earlier this month, Pakistan's Attorney General Anwar Mansoor announced his resignation over controversy surrounding a Supreme Court order to investigate corruption allegations [JURIST reports] against Zardari. Last month, Swiss authorities denied a request [JURIST report] from Pakistan's National Accountability Bureau [official website], refusing to reopen a corruption investigation against Zardari. Aides to Zardari believe that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution, even after the Supreme Court overturned an amnesty law [JURIST report] implemented by Musharraf. The amnesty was signed [JURIST report] by Musharraf as part of a power-sharing accord allowing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC profile] to return to the country despite corruption charges [JURIST report] she had faced.

[JURIST] US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] Inspector General Glenn Fine [official profile] and FBI [official website] General Counsel Valerie Caproni [official profile] testified [materials] Thursday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties [official website] regarding governmental abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) [CRS backgrounder, PDF; FBI backgrounder]. Committee members were angered by the FBI's use of "exigent letters," which lack any statutory authority, as a means by which to circumvent proper NSL protocol. Their appearance follows the January release of a DOJ report [text, PDF] that documented hundreds of instances of FBI officials employing the tactic to improperly gain access to personal records [JURIST report]. House Judiciary Chair John Conyers (D-MI) [official website] condemned [press release] the practice, saying:

Today's hearing showed that the FBI broke the law on telephone records privacy and the General Counsel's Office, headed by Valerie Caproni, sanctioned it and must face consequences. I call upon FBI Director Mueller to take immediate action to punish those who violated the rules, including firing them from the agency. This must include the FBI Office of General Counsel, headed by Valerie Caproni, which the IG testified today had "approved [the] continued use" of exigent letters and "provided legal advice that was inconsistent with" federal law.

[JURIST] Nine Afghan witnesses have claimed that they were held and tortured in a secret US prison at the Bagram Air Base [official website; JURIST news archive] in Afghanistan, according to a BBC report Thursday. The witnesses say that they were allegedly captured by American forces and taken to a secret location where they were abused and interrogated [BBC report], then later transported to an official detention facility in Parwan, a new prison recently opened [JURIST report] at the edge of Bagram Air Base. Torture allegations include sleep deprivation, disorientation, beating, and humiliation tactics. The report comes a few weeks after US President Barack Obama made a surprise visit [press release] to the base in Afghanistan. The new US prison has room for 1,400 detainees, is part of the Obama administration's wider efforts to improve its Afghan detainee system [JURIST news archive], and will eventually be controlled by the Afghan government later this year [JURIST report]. Rights groups have previously called on the Obama administration to make sure its detention policy conforms to international law [press release]. Despite the alleged witness accounts of torture [The Nation report], the US government continues to deny the existence of secret prisons in Afghanistan.

Alleged prisoner abuse linked to the war on terror in Afghanistan has received international attention. Last week, a retired Canadian military officer who served in Afghanistan said that Canadian soldiers believed that prisoners may have been abused [Globe and Mail report] after being transferred to prison facilities in Afghanistan. Human rights groups have also criticized military procedures in the country. Earlier this month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed habeas corpus petitions [JURIST report] on behalf of four detainees held at Bagram Air Base, claiming that none of the men has engaged in hostile behavior directed at the US, nor are they members of groups that purport to do so. In January, the US Department of Defense released a list of names of 645 prisoners detained at Bagram in response to a Freedom Of Information Act lawsuit filed [JURIST reports] by the ACLU last September. Prisoners at Bagram have launched previous habeas corpus challenges [JURIST report] in US courts but thus far have been less successful than those held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive].

[JURIST] Federal Communications Commission (FCC) [official website] Chairman Julius Genachowski [official profile] testified [text, PDF] Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee [official website] that the agency will move ahead with its National Broadband Plan [official website; materials] despite a recent court ruling [JURIST report] that it lacks the power to enforce net neutrality [Google backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Net neutrality, which is unanimously supported [JURIST report] by the FCC's commissioners, was thought essential to the goal of an open flow of information over the Internet regardless of the amount of revenue generated by the information. Genachowski said that the FCC's actions, as laid out in the 2010 Broadband Action Agenda [materials] will, "protect America's global competitiveness and help deliver the extraordinary benefits of broadband to all Americans." The roadmap, he continued, falls within the framework of the Communications Act of 1934 [text, PDF] as amended in 1996 and will be, "rooted in a sound legal foundation, designed to promote investment, innovation, competition, and consumer interests."

The FCC announced last week that it would move forward with the plan [JURIST reports] despite the ruling. The FCC sent the plan [JURIST report] to Congress for approval last month, seeking approval to enact regulations to update the communications infrastructure in the US and make broadband service available to millions more Americans. Telecommunications companies Verizon, AT&T and Comcast [corporate websites] argue that net neutrality would inhibit their ability to effectively manage Internet traffic. Under the National Broadband plan, the FCC hopes to provide broadband access as broadly as possible, including to at least one public institution in every community and to first responders. Other notable goals of the plan include providing 100 million households with affordable 100 megabits-per-second internet service and ensuring that all children are literate in digital technology by the time they leave high school.

[JURIST] The Ukrainian government must ensure accountability for human rights violations [press release], Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] urged in a report [text, PDF] Wednesday. AI addressed newly-elected President Viktor Yanukovych [official website], calling on him to bring Ukrainian laws and practices in line with international human rights standards. Among the recommendations are establishing an investigatory agency to look into complaints of human rights violations against police officers as well as unannounced visits to prisons to deter improper treatment of prisoners. AI also urged Ukraine to record and monitor incidents of racially motivated crimes and to create a fair asylum system. The Ukrainian government responded Thursday that it would follow the recommendations [press release]. Deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration Anna German assured AI that the president was in control of "the promotion and unconditional protection of human rights."

Yanukovych was inaugurated in February after former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko dropped a lawsuit [JURIST report] contesting the election results, in which she alleged widespread voter fraud. AI has recently urged other countries to investigate human rights abuses. Last month, AI issued a report alleging that Kazakhstan's government was failing to curb torture [JURIST report] by law enforcement officers. The group also joined other human rights organizations in calling for an inquiry [JURIST report] into the UK role in torture during the war on terror.

[JURIST] A judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois [JURIST report] on Wednesday ordered the release of a 91-page government proffer [text, PDF] outlining evidence in the government's case against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich [JURIST news archive]. According to the proffer, Blagojevich and his staff engaged in several schemes [Chicago Sun-Times report] by which they hoped to personally gain from Blagojevich's role as governor. Specifically, prosecutors describe how Blagojevich tried to sell the senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, made appointments based on anticipated campaign contributions, and took kickbacks from a number of companies. The prosecution argues in the proffer that the evidence presented in the proffer is admissible in court against the former governor. The document was sought by several news organizations.

Last month, Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to eight amended corruption charges [JURIST reports]. Last year, Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to 16 felony counts [JURIST reports], including wire fraud, attempted extortion, racketeering conspiracy, extortion conspiracy, and making false statements. In January 2009, the Illinois State Senate voted unanimously [JURIST report] to convict Blagojevich of abuse of power and remove him from office. Blagojevich is the first Illinois governor to be impeached and removed from office. Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were initially arrested [JURIST report] in December 2008 on allegations that they had conspired to sell the Senate seat left vacant by Obama.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Eric Holder [official profile] said Wednesday that the government has not ruled out prosecuting certain high-profile terror suspects in civilian court in New York City. During a hearing [materials] on oversight of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] that the government is still considering trying several high-level terror suspects, including alleged 9/11 conspirator Khalid Sheikh Mohammad [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website]. Admitting that finding a proper venue for civilian trials outside the Southern District of New York could pose difficulties, Holder said he had compiled a list of other possibly appropriate venues. Holder said he has taken safety and logistical concerns under advisement and that the DOJ will be ready to decide where to try the suspects "in a number of weeks." Holder also reiterated the Obama administration's goal to close down the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] as quickly as possible. He said that the facility could not be closed until funds have been secured to purchase an alternate site in Illinois [JURIST report] to which the remaining detainees will be transferred. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] praised the administration [ACLU release] for its insistence on trying the suspects in civilian courts, but criticized Holder for saying the government will continue to hold particularly dangerous detainees without charges.

Late last month, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates [official profile] appointed [JURIST report] retired Navy Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald [official profile] as the convening authority for military commissions [JURIST news archive], leading to speculation that the Obama administration was planning to try the 9/11 conspirators in a military trial. Last month, Holder defended his decision [JURIST report] to try the suspected terrorists in civilian court. The ACLU expressed support [press release] for Holder's decision. Earlier in March, the ACLU released a full-page advertisement in the New York Times urging President Barack Obama [JURIST report] to uphold his pledge to try 9/11 suspects in civilian criminal court. That release came just days after reports that White House advisers were considering recommending [JURIST report] that Mohammed be tried in a military court rather than through the civilian criminal justice system. Holder announced [JURIST report] that the alleged conspirators would face civilian criminal trials rather than military tribunals late last year.

[JURIST] Italy's Constitutional Court [official website, in Italian] on Wednesday rejected [press release, DOC; in Italian] a challenge to the constitutionality of the country's ban on same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. After hearing arguments from several same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses, courts in Trento and Venice asked the high court to resolve [Corriere del Veneto report, in Italian] whether provisions in the Italian Civil Code [text, in Italian] banning same-sex marriage conflict with Articles 2 and 117 of the Italian Constitution [text, PDF]. Following a closed session Wednesday morning, the court issued a brief statement declaring the question ineligible with regard to Articles 2 and 117 and unfounded with relation to Articles 3 and 29. The court is expected to issue a detailed judgment soon.

In 2007, Italy's Cabinet approved a controversial proposal [JURIST report] to grant a number of legal rights to unmarried couples, including those of the same sex. The proposal, harshly criticized by the country's justice minister and bishop [JURIST reports], ultimately failed. Italy is one of few Western European nations that does not offer legal recognition to same-sex couples. Most recently, the Portugese Parliament legalized same-sex marriage [JURIST report] in January. Prior to that, the Swedish Parliament enacted similar legislation [JURIST report] in April 2009.