JURIST - Paper Chase: Sunday, June 19, 2011

[JURIST] The Justice Ministry of Bahrain [BBC backgrounder] announced Saturday that the government will be take action to lift the ban on the leading opposition party, the National Democratic Action Society [website]. The leftist opposition party, known as Waad and aligned with the largest Shi'ite opposition group, was shut down in April during the pro-democracy protests [JURIST report]. Waad spokesman Radhi al-Mousawi said the party would reopen its headquarters in the capital, Manama, and later its office in Muharraq. Waad is considering engaging in the political dialogue in July with King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa [official profile] regarding the kingdom's state of crisis. Ibrahim Sharif, leader of the Waad party, remains in prison [Khaleej Times report] for allegedly plotting a coup with the support of a foreign terrorist group.

In April, al-Khalifa declared [JURIST report] a three-month state of emergency [decree text, in Arabic] in response to growing unrest in the island nation. The state of emergency came just days after a group of 22 Bahraini lawmakers, part of an independent pro-government bloc, called on the King to impose martial law under articles 36 and 123 of the Bahraini Constitution [text, PDF]. The Bahraini government's response to the ongoing protests have prompted international concern. In February, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called for an end to violence against protesters [JURIST report] in the country, referencing attempts to quell protests sweeping across the region. Ban said that he was "disturbed by all these violent means of trying to disperse demonstrators, the freedom of expression, freedom of access to information, particularly the journalists."

[JURIST] Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou [official website] on Sunday, while delivering opening remarks to a three-day session of the Greek Parliament [official website, in Greek], proposed undertaking a constitutional referendum. Papandreou suggested a fall referendum [AP report], arguing its necessity in order to eliminate the systemic governmental inefficiency and waste that led to the country's recent economic crisis [BBC backgrounder] and to prosecute corrupt officials. Opponents described the proposal as a politically-motivated tactic to shift the dialogue away from questions of Papandreou's competency. The prime minister also stated that Greece is in negotiations to secure a second bailout package of approximately the same value as the €110 billion loan it received last May to alleviate the crisis. The debate is expected to conclude Tuesday with a confidence vote on Papandreou's government.

Greece's recent economic crisis threatened to destabilize the international economy. In May 2010, the EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) [official website] announced the initial €110 billion bailout package for Greece, which was subsequently approved by euro-zone leaders [BBC report]. The following day, Germany's Constitutional Court [official website, in German] refused to issue a temporary injunction [JURIST report] against the country's €22.4 billion contribution to the bailout fund. The suit, brought by the same group that had previously sought to block Germany's adoption of the euro, claimed that the contribution was unconstitutional.

[JURIST] The lawyer representing former Tunisian president Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] on Sunday denied the numerous charges facing his client, which range from murder and conspiracy to drug use. Ben Ali's trial in absentia before civilian and military courts is set to begin on Monday [VOA report]. If convicted, Ben Ali could face a long prison sentence. The charges stem mostly from allegations that Ben Ali authorized the use of force against protesters during the Tunisian revolution, resulting in more than 200 deaths. Justice Minister Lazhar Karoui Chebbi [profile, in French] announced the issuance of an arrest warrant for Ben Ali in January, though the country has not received a response to its request to extradite [JURIST reports] the former leader from Saudi Arabia, where he remains in exile.

The charges against Ben Ali came after advocacy groups Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy websites] called for the Tunisian transitional government to investigate incidents of police violence against protesters and end police brutality [JURIST reports]. In January, the Tunisian Constitutional Council officially announced that Ben Ali had permanently left the office of the presidency after he declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] amid nationwide protests, banning public gatherings and allowing police to fire on anyone refusing to obey orders, and fled the country. The leader of the lower house of parliament, Foued Mebezza, assumed power as interim president [JURIST report] and is expected to remain in power until elections are held, which Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi [Reuters profile] has indicated will be within the next several months.