[JURIST] The Bush administration has asked the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] to overturn a decision [opinion text] made last year by a US District Court preventing the government from conducting secret searches of communications records. The District Court ruling came in a case considering whether an ISP was required to release records to the FBI. The court found the law that authorized these searches wrongly barred legal challenges and imposed a gag order on affected businesses. The filing of the appeal occurs amid a debate in Congress over whether to renew the Patriot Act and expand the FBI's power to to demand records without a judicial order. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Johannesburg High Court has banned the release of a newspaper article revealing a corruption scandal involving the nation's ruling African National Congress (ANC) [political party website], requiring South Africa's leading independant newspaper, the Mail and Guardian [media website], to prevent the distribution of its entire 45,000 issue run. Last week, the newpaper ran the first article in a series alleging that ANC used the South African oil company Imvune Management to channel $1.7 million from the state to the party. The court found the information was gathered illegally because the paper refused to reveal its sources. The paper responded in an editorial saying it was "the first time since the apartheid states banning of the M&G under emergency regulations in the late 1980s that the paper has been muzzled. '' Afrol News has more. The Mail & Guardian has local coverage.

[JURIST] Former US nuclear weapons workers can soon start filing claims for compensation for exposure to radiation [US Labor Department press release] and other industrial toxins while working on cold-war era nuclear weapons. The program details [DOL procedures for filing claims and determining eligibility] were released for living workers on Friday, but the government has already implemented a program for the survivors of deceased workers and has paid more than $53 million for 430 claims. Most of those benefited by the program worked at facilities in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington. Critics argue that the new compensation plan may not cover all possible ailments and the burden of proving exposure may be too high. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Bush administration Friday refused a request to extradite Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela, citing inadequate supporting evidence. Carriles is suspected of bombing a plane carrying 73 people to Caracas and has been charged by US authorities [JURIST report] for entering the country illegally. The request had been a source of conflict between the US and the leftist government of Hugo Chavez, a close ally of Cuba. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leader of the banned Batasuna party [Wikipedia entry], the political wing of Basque separatist group ETA [Wikipedia entry], Arnaldo Otegi was freed on bail Friday after two days in a Madrid prison. Otegi was freed after his lawyer put up $400,000 euros to secure his release from the high-security prison. He had previously served a four-year term for an ETA kidnapping and his arrest earlier this week was on suspicion of his role as a "leader in the terrorist network." Otegi's imprisonment came just two weeks after the Spanish government offered to open up talks with ETA [AP report] if it stopped all violence and many see the arrest as an impediment to the hopes of peace in the region. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The former national finance director of the Hillary Rodham Clinton [official website] Senate campaign, David Rosen, was acquitted Friday of two counts of making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Prosecutors argued that Rosen lied to conceal the mounting costs of a 2000 fundraising event, disclosing only $400,000 in in-kind contributions, when the actual total was closer to $1.1 million. The fundraiser, which raised $91,000, was financed by Peter F. Paul [SEC press release on charges], a convicted felon who pleaded guilty in March to separate securities fraud charges and Aaron Tonken [DOJ press release on charges], who is serving a 63-month prison sentence for unrelated charges of defrauding charities. Prosecutors stated that the Clintons were unaware of any fraudulent activity. AP has more.

[JURIST] Mayor of New Paltz [official website] Jason West will face trial for attempting to marry same-sex couples last year, New York's highest court announced Friday. West faces 24 misdemeanor counts for violating the state's domestic relations law by marrying couples without licenses, making him subject to fines with a possibility of up to one year in jail. In a series of charges filed and dropped [JURIST report] against West over the past year for failing to uphold the law in New York, he has maintained that he is standing up for the constitutional rights of gay couples. AP has more.

[JURIST] Prosecutors in Romania on Friday charged translator Muhamed Munaf and Arab businessman Omar Hayssam with orchestrating the kidnapping of three Romanian journalists [Guardian report] held for 55 days in Iraq. The two men were specifically charged with "initiating, funding and coordinating the March 28 kidnapping." Prosecutors believe that Hayssam hoped to remake his image, tarnished by involvement in organized crime and shady financial dealings, into that of a hero by making it appear that he aided in the journalists rescue. Warrant arrests for 30 days were issued according to the report. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Friday's international brief, a high-level source in the cabinet of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe [Wikipedia profile] has told news agencies in Zimbabwe [government website] that the administration has decided to push forward legislation that would nationalize all private productive farmland in the nation. The source said that in addition to creating a new cabinet level department to oversee the land acquisition, the government will also seek to amend the Zimbabwean Constitution [official text] to abolish almost all private property ownership rights. The proposed legislation is not without opposition in Mugabe's cabinet, and might be changed to reflect viewpoints of the cabinet, but the source said that some version of the law will almost certainly be presented to the Zimbabwean Parliament [government website] next month, since Mugabe is said to strongly support the legislation. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. Zim Online has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• The Turkish Parliament [government website in Turkish] gave final approval Friday to a new penal code that will take effect in the beginning of June. The penal code reforms were hotly contested within Turkey and throughout Europe [JURIST report], with their approval seen as one of the key steps needed for Turkey [government website] to begin the process of admission to the EU. Some last-minute changes were implemented in the reform code to loosen criminal restrictions on the freedom of the press, but criminal charges are still applicable for criticism of some state institutions and for the publication of material deemed "contrary to fundamental national interests" - such as suggesting that the killings of Armenians in World War I was a genocide. Overall however, most of Europe's governments have viewed the new penal code as a significant step forward for Turkey. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Turkey. BBC News has more.
  
  
• US Representative Henry J. Hyde [official profile], chairman of the House Committee on International Relations [government website], introduced a resolution to both the US House and Senate [government websites] that proposes to condemn the history of kidnappings performed by North Korea [government website] as acts of terrorism and grave violations of human rights. The draft resolution argues that North Korea should not be removed from the US State Department's list of states sponsoring terrorism [official website] until the kidnapping issue is resolved. The resolution also proposed that the kidnapping issue be included in the proposed talks in Pyongyang on nuclear disarmament. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of North Korea [JURIST news archive]. South Korea's Chosun Ilbo has more.
  
  
• Former Chilean Minister of the Interior and now current Secretary General José Miguel Insulza [official profile] was installed into office as the head of the Organization of American States [official website] Thursday. Insulza was finally elected to office on May 2 following repeated stalemates among the voting members [JURIST report] of the OAS between Insulza and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Affairs Luis Ernesto Derbez [official profile in Spanish]. Insulza said his focus would be on implementing procedural reforms in the OAS to ensure that member-states abide by the human rights norms ascribed to by the OAS, as well as increasing the Western Hemisphere's contribution in the fight against international terrorism and the AIDS/HIV epidemic. Read Insulza's acceptance speech. Read the official OAS press release.

[JURIST] Following allegations of religious intolerance and a subsequent Air Force task force visit [US Air Force press release] to the Colorado Air Force Academy [official website], the Air Force has specifically instructed its commanders to exercise “religious respect” and refrain from using their positions to advance religious beliefs. The visit was sparked by claims of religious discrimination [JURIST report] at the Academy, including a claim that Capt. MeLinda Morton, an Academy chaplain, was demoted and transferred to Okinawa after criticizing evangelicals' influence at the academy. The Air Force’s instruction states that, "Senior leaders, commanders, and supervisor at every level must be particularly sensitive to the fact that subordinates can consider your public expressions of belief systems coercive. Using your place at the podium as a platform for your personal beliefs can be perceived as misuse of office." The task force’s report has yet to be released. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Congolese government Friday denied allegations by Amnesty International [advocacy website] that roughly 65 civilians were being detained and possibly tortured in the southeastern province of Katanga [Wikipedia entry]. The human rights organization said that the detainees were accused by the government of involvement in a succession plot to control resource-rich Katanga. Government spokesman Henri Mova Sakanyi admitted that 35 people had been arrested but denied that any had been tortured or mistreated and said that only 8 remained incarcerated, to face charges of trying to "organize independence." With a wealth of copper and cobalt reserves, Katanga has been a hotbed of secessionist movements since Congo's independence in 1960. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A judge in Paris investigating the disappearance of four French citizens during the dictatorial reign of Gen. Augusto Pinochet [Wikipedia profile] in Chile has renewed arrest warrants for Pinochet and 18 other members of the Chilean military. The warrants were renewed Wednesday for procedural reasons related to the judge's acquisition of the 2001 investigation. Among the French citizens who disappeared are Georges Klein, personal doctor to President Salvador Allende [BBC profile] who was killed in a bloody coup in 1973. AP has more.

[JURIST] Citing a pattern of fraud at American International Group Inc. [official website], the world's largest insurer by market value, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has filed suit against AIG, its former chief executive, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg [Wikipedia profile], and its former chief financial officer, Howard Smith. The lawsuit, filed in New York Supreme Court Thursday, alleges the defendants engaged in fraudulent transactions to prop up the price of AIG stock, concealed losses, mischaracterized income and repeatedly lied to state insurance inspectors. The suit also suggests that Greenberg and Smith may have manipulated the stock for their own financial benefit. The complaint did not include any claims unknown to AIG and the company announced that they were "pleased that Attorney General Spitzer has recognized our cooperation and has previously indicated his expectations of reaching a civil settlement with AIG." Greenberg resigned from his positions as chief executive officer and chairman of AIG in March and Smith was fired about a week later for failing to cooperate with investigators. AP has more.

[JURIST] Reuters is reporting that the US military has begun an investigation into the shooting death Friday of an Iraqi inmate at Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive]. The army provided only a brief statement. "An Abu Ghraib detainee died from gunshot wounds May 27 at approximately 5am (0100 GMT) after being transported to a coalition medical treatment facility. The incident is under investigation." Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge James A. Redden ruled Thursday that the Bush administration distorted information to downplay the harm that 14 federal dams cause to the endangered salmon and steelhead of the Columbia and Snake rivers, neglecting its duty to protect the species. The ruling means that the issue will be sent back to the National Marine Fisheries Service [official website] for the third time for reevaluation of the potential harm to fish caused by the dams. Environmental groups such as the National Wildlife Federation [advocacy website] applauded the decision [NWF press release] as stopping the government from ignoring their obligations under the Endangered Species Act. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Despite the recent campaign [JURIST report] by French President Jacques Chirac [official profile] to push the European Union constitution [text], thirteen successive polls indicate that the majority of French voters will vote "no" to the charter in a referendum this Sunday. While all 25 member countries must approve the constitution by either referendum or parlimentary vote, EU officials said that a French rejection would not necessarily spell death to the agreement if it was by a narrow margin. Chirac has warned that failure to approve the constitution "Would open a period of divisions, of doubts, of uncertainties" and be seen by Europeans as a "no to Europe"; he made a final TV pitch [official transcript} for the constitution Thursday. Socialist former Prime Minister Laurent Fabius [Wikipedia profile] has campaigned strongly for the "no" vote, stating that the constitution would create a European super-state that would swallow France, and is encouraging those opposed to the agreement to vote Sunday. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence [official website] was unable to come to a final agreement Thursday regarding an FBI proposal for increased power [JURIST report] to seize records and mailings in terror investigations under the USA Patriot Act [text]. In a nearly three-hour closed session the members of the committee debated the merits of the proposal and the effect it would have on people's civil liberties. Civil liberties groups were dismayed that the discussions were not open to the public and have expressed concern [ACLU press release] over the scope of the FBI's power. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] President Bush's languishing air pollution initiative received a boost on Thursday when the Environmental Protection Agency [official website] agreed to a request made months ago by the Senate to examine competing legislation. The President's plan, known as Clear Skies [EPA website], failed in a Senate Committee vote in March 2005 when Democratic Senator Thomas R. Carper [official website] voted against the bill in a 9-9 vote because of the EPA's reluctance to consider similar bills with tighter emmissions standards. The EPA response may be enough to persuade another Democrat to switch votes. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] The proposed European Union Constitution [text; JURIST news archive] received overwhelming legislative approval in Germany Friday. With all but one of Germany's 16 states in support of the constitution, the final "yes" vote in the Bundesrat [official website], the German upper house, was 66 of a possible 69. The state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania [Wikipedia entry] abstained from the vote as a result of opposition from its junior partner in its governing coalition, the ex-communist Party of Democratic Socialism [official website]. German leaders hope the vote will boost French support in time for the Sunday referendum, as polls indicate opponents making up the majority in both France and the Netherlands. All 25 EU countries must approve the constitution for it to take effect. AP has more.

[JURIST] Following up an an report yesterday in JURIST's Paper Chase, US military investigators have now identified five incidents in which the Koran was mishandled by US personnel at Guantanamo Bay but have not found any hard evidence that the holy book had been flushed down a toilet. According to a statement from prison commander Brig. Gen. Jay Hood Thursday, three of the mishandling incidents appeared to be deliberate while two were accidental. Two Guantanamo soldiers involved have been disciplined. Reuters has more.