International brief ~ Annan envoy to investigate Zimbabwe mass evictions News
International brief ~ Annan envoy to investigate Zimbabwe mass evictions

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's international brief, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Anna Kajumulo Tibaijuka [official profile], Executive Director of the UN Human Settlements Programme [official website], as Special Envoy to Zimbabwe [government website] to investigate the continuing mass evictions [JURIST report] taking place under Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [Wikipedia profile] and "Operation Restore Order". Mugabe reportedly agreed Tuesday to allow Tibaijuka access to the country and the right to inspect affected areas. She is expected to arrive sometime next week from Nairobi, Kenya. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. Read the official UN Press Release. Read the UN News Centre official report. ZimOnline has local coverage.

In other international legal news …

  • Rabbi Yonah Metzger [official profile], Chief Rabbi on the Israeli Rabbinical High Court and the judicial body that approves judicial appointments, notified the Israeli High Court of Justice Tuesday that he was disqualifying himself from sitting on any current cases while he awaits word on whether he will be charged with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. Israeli police announced at the end of last month that they had sufficient evidence to arrest Metzger. Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz [official profile] has not yet indicated whether he intends to indict Metzger, but the Rabbinical Courts had already removed Metzger from several cases, and the judicial appointment body has excluded him from several recent committee votes. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Israel [JURIST news archive]. The Jerusalem Post has local coverage.
  • As expected [JURIST report], former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma [party profile] was formally charged on Tuesday with two counts of corruption according to Makhosini Nkosi, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority. Zuma's first hearing has been scheduled for June 29 in a Durban magistrate court. Zuma will not be arrested, but has been ordered to appear before the court on pain of arrest. Zuma said he welcomed the opportunity to put the record straight concerning his relationship with former financial advisor Shabir Shaik [Wikipedia profile], who was recently convicted [JURIST report] of corruption and fraud. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of South Africa [JURIST news archive]. South Africa's News24 has local coverage.
  • The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia [official website] announced Tuesday that only 135 of the nearly 300 registered complaints about last month's national election [JURIST report] would be investigated for fraud and intimidation. NEBE spokespersons said that the other 164 complaints had been dismissed for lack of evidence, and would be permanently rejected unless the complaining parties, which include the government ruling party and the major opposition party, file supporting evidence by Thursday. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.
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