[JURIST] An official with Iran's Guardian Council said early Saturday local time that hardline Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [Wikipedia profile; campaign website in Farsi] had a commanding lead over former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [campaign website in Farsi] in the country's run-off presidential election. With roughly 12.9 million of 22 million ballots counted, Ahmadinejad had taken 61% of the vote, thanks largely to widespread support among conservative and religious voters in poorer provinces. Rafsanjani supporters had earlier claimed "massive irregularities" in the poll due to alleged pressure on voters by the hardline Basij militia; the Interior Ministry, whose officials are largely Rafsanjani backers, at one point called for some polling stations to be closed [JURIST report]. An Anti-Ahmadinejad blogger in Iran also says he has heard news of "extensive fraud" [blog post]. Reuters has more. Iran's IRNA news agency has local coverage.

8:17 PM ET - Updated figures from IRNA [report in Farsi] at 3:30 AM local time are translated [blog post] as 15 million votes for Ahmadinejad and 9 million for Rafsanjani of 24 million counted.

8:32 PM ET - AP is reporting that Iran's Interior Ministry has declared Ahmadinejad the winner of the presidential run-off election.

[JURIST] Leading Friday's corporations and securities law news, affiliates of both Sprint [corporate website] and Nextel [corporate website] plan legal action relating to the companies' planned merger. In a filing with the SEC today, Nextel Partners [corporate website], a Washington state company that distributes Nextel services, declared its intention to vote on forcing a stock buy-out by the new company. US Unwired Inc. [corporate website], a Louisiana company that distributes Sprint services, is suing to stop the merger because they claim it infringes on their contract to be the exclusive Sprint distributor in six southern states. AP has more.

In other corporations and securities news...

• ITT Educational Services [official website] announced in a press release Friday that it is no longer under investigation by the US Department of Justice. In a letter [PDF] to ITT, the DOJ said that it has not discovered enough evidence against ITT or its upper management to continue the investigation. The DOJ raided eight ITT campuses [JURIST coverage] last year. AP has more.
  
  
• Swiss pharmaceutical Roche [corporate website] has pledged to quickly resolve a legal dispute with its American partner Gilead Sciences [corporate website]. Yesterday, Gilead issued a press release charging that Roche has not effectively marketed and produced Tamiflu [Wikipedia entry] or properly paid Gilead's royalties. Tamiflu is a Gilead-produced drug that is believed to be the best hope in fighting an outbreak of avian flu [Wikipedia entry]. Gilead claims that Roche's actions violate the 1996 contract between the two companies. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Leading Friday's states brief, Florida Governor Jeb Bush Friday signed legislation overhauling Florida's state growth and development guidelines [press release] for the first time in twenty years. The legislation calls for $1.5 billion of state money to be spent on highways, water facilities and classrooms in the next year. Senate bills 360 [bill summary], 444 [bill summary], and 362 [bill summary] require adequate roads and schools to be in place or under construction within three years of the local government's approval, an adequate water supply to be available before residents can move into a new development and creates the Water Protection and Sustainability Program to clean up polluted waterways. The funding will also help pay for new classrooms under a constitutional amendment limiting the number of children in public school classrooms. Florida is projected to grow by 5 million residents in the next 17 years. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• The New Jersey Appellate Division of the Superior Court has ruled that libel suits over internet publications must be filed within one year of the report's publication. The ruling [PDF text] treats internet publications the same as publications in more traditional forms such as newspapers and books. In a suit by two volunteers at the Warren County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals against three investigators of the New Jersey Commission of Investigation [NJ official website], the volunteers' attorneys argued that the publication of the report at issue on the Internet was different than traditional publications because the report is essentially published daily on the commission's website. Judge James P. Petralla wrote, "We find no principled basis in a situation like the one before us for treating the Internet differently than other forms of mass media." NJ's Asbury Park Press has local coverage.
  
  
• The New Jersey Legislature [official website] has approved an identity theft bill. The Indentity Theft Prevention Act [PDF text] requires businesses to destroy unnecessary documents with personal information and inform customers when their data has been compromised. The Act also allows consumers to put a security freeze on their credit reports to prevent unauthorized access and allows consumers to file a police report when they believe that they have been a victim of identity theft. Acting Governor Richard J. Codey [official website] is expected to sign the legislation. New Jersey's Trenton Times has more.
  
  
• The Oregon Supreme Court [official website] has ruled that the state's law banning felons from possessing firearms does not violate the right to bear arms under the Oregon Constitution [text]. The Supreme Court's opinion [text] said that the legislature has the authority to designate certain groups as posing threats to public safety and to restrict that group's right to firearms. The defendants argued that the law was overbroad because it forbids all felons from possessing firearms. AP has more.

[JURIST] Leading Friday's international brief, the special criminal tribunal [JURIST report] created by the Sudanese government [official website] to begin the process of trying individuals alleged to have committed war crimes in Darfur is reportedly questioning its legal status to try certain individuals in light of the recently opened investigation by the International Criminal Court [official website]. Several Sudanese government ministers have suggested the that tribunal is a substitute for the ICC and eliminates the need for any international investigation. The Rome Statute [official PDF text] of the ICC allows for complementarity between domestic courts and the international judicial body, so long as the legitimacy and validity of the local judicial system is considered to meet the minimum of international standards. Rights groups have charged Sudan with creating the special tribunal merely to avoid the ICC [Amnesty International press release], criticizing the Sudanese judiciary as incapable of conducting truly fair and impartial trials. Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir [Wikipedia profile] has repeatedly stated that no Sudanese citizen will be surrendered to the ICC's jurisdiction. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. IRIN News has more.

In related news, the Sudanese National Constitution Commission announced Thursday that all of the international charters and conventions addressing human rights and individual freedoms that have currently been signed and ratified by the current Sudanese government are being included in the Sudanese Interim Constitution. The Commission spokesperson announced that the conventions and charters, included in Article 27 of the Interim Constitution, will be given full weight before domestic courts, allowing individual citizens to bring private causes of actions against the government for failure to maintain those rights. The Commission also announced the inclusion of a provision that will prevent any of those rights and freedoms from being confiscated or revoked by any form of legislation. The Commission is made up of members from several of the larger rebel groups in Sudan, as well as government representatives and domestic legal experts and was a result of the historic January peace accords [JURIST report] in Sudan. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe [Wikipedia profile] signed the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Kubatana backgrounder] in the beginning of June, the Zimbabwe Attorney General's Office revealed Friday. The law creates stricter penalties for journalists convicted of intentionally publishing information determined by the court to be "wholly or materially false" and raises the allowble term of incarceration from between 5 to 15 years to 10 ot 20 years. The law cannot be implemented until a statutory implemention document is released, and the Attorney General's Office announced that it expected the instrument early next week. Zimbabwe currently has some of the strictest press laws on record and systematically refuses entrance to the nation by foreign journalists. The Committee to Protect Journalists [advocacy website] currently ranks Zimbabwe as one of the three most dangerous locations for journalists in the world. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. ZimOnline has local coverage.
  
  
• The Nepali Monarchy [government website] is planning to introduce University Ordinance 20-61 soon according to a statement by the Nepal University Grants Commission [official website] spokesperson on Friday. The legislation would give King Gyanendra [official profile] the office of Chancellor at all publicly and privately funded universities currently in existance in Nepal, and in all those established after the bill's passage. The reported aim of the bill is to remove the 'politicization of higher education' from different universities and ensure that unity exists among the academic community in Nepal. The Ministry of Education [government website] recommended the bill in cooperation with experts employed by the UGC after a dispute arose about whether the office of Prime Minister, whose last occupant was forcibly dismissed by Gyanendra, should retain the Chancellorship at certain influential universities. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal. Kantipur Online has local coverage.

[JURIST] Iran state television announced Friday that the Iranian Interior Ministry would extend the polling hours of the country's second presidential runoff election for the fifth time. The voting started at 9 AM local time and was scheduled to end at 7 PM, but has now been extended until 11 PM at the request of many provinces, which are experiencing long lines. In last Friday's inconclusive vote, polling hours were also extended several times. The runoff occured after neither Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [BBC profile] or Mahmood Ahmadinejad [BBC profile] obtained the required 50% vote. In the first round, Rafsanjani received 21 percent of the votes cast, and Ahmadinejad received 19.5 percent. The final result is expected by midday Saturday. IranMania has more.

[JURIST] The World Tribunal on Iraq [advocacy website] on Friday accused the US of committing war crimes during the invasion of Iraq and claimed the United States has caused more deaths in Iraq than former dictator Saddam Hussein. The tribunal, a group of NGOs, intellectuals, and legal experts with no binding authority is based on so-called Russell Tribunal [Wikipedia backgrounder] convened by English philosopher and anti-war activist Bertrand Russell during the Vietnam War in the 1960s. It will deliver a "verdict" Monday during its Istanbul convention [press release] to condemn US and British action in Iraq. Militant Indian novelist and tribunal member Arundhati Roy [Wikipedia profile] called on the International Criminal Court [speech transcript] to utilize the evidence gathered by the group "to try as war criminals George Bush, Tony Blair, John Howard, Silvio Berlusconi, and all those government officials, army generals, and corporate CEOs who participated in this war and now benefit from it." AFP has more.

[JURIST] Iranian Interior Ministry officials said Friday that intimidation and other abuses were impairing the presidential run-off election between relative moderate and former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [BBC profile] and hard-liner and mayor of Tehran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [BBC profile]. The Interior Ministry, dominated by Rafsanjani supporters, has requested that some polling locations be closed because of irregularities, such as the presence of Basij religious militiamen. A Rafsanjani aide said police harassed and arrested Rafsanjani representatives and in some locations women voters were turned away for inappropriate Islamic dress. Reuters has more. BBC News compares where the candidates stand on important issues.

[JURIST] Chief of Staff to UN-Secretary General Kofi Annan Mark Malloch Brown [official profile] told AP Friday that the UN will ask France to pursue a former UN employee accused in the murders of 32 Rwandans during the genocide of 1994, after pressure on Rwandan authorities has yielded little success. Callixte Mbarushimana [Wikipedia profile], who has lived in France since 2003 with refugee protection, worked for the UN Development Program [official website] in Rwanda from 1992-1994. He is believed to have shot two people to death and coordinated the murders of 30 others, including other UN employees. Mbarushimana denies the charges and said he welcomed the opportunnity to clear his name. Former chief prosecutor for the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda [official website] Carla del Ponte says the ICTR did not file an indictment against Mbarushimana because it lacked sufficient evidence against him. AP has more.

[JURIST] A judge has added $130 million to the $1.45 billion verdict against Morgan Stanley [corporate website] a jury awarded last month [JURIST report] to billionaire financier and Revlon Inc. chairman Ron Perelman. The judge took off about $84.5 million because of previous settlements, but added more than $208 million in interest. Perelman attorney, Jack Scarola said he believed a settlement was possible because more than $300,000 in interest accrues every day. Morgan Stanley spokesman Andrew Walton reiterated the company's previous statement [press release] that it will appeal the verdict. AP has more.

[JURIST] In a White House press conference [transcript] Friday with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [Wikipedia profile], President Bush reiterated his goal of sticking to the scheduled timetable for a permannet Iraqi constitution which contemplates completion of a a draft by August 15, a referendum on the draft by October 15, and a new election under the constitution by December 15:

...the only timetable that I think is going to -- that I know is out there is the timetable that says let's have the constitution written by a certain date, and let's have it ratified by a certain date, and let's have the election by a certain date. That's the timetable. And we're going to stay on that timetable. And it's important for the Iraqi people to know we are.

[JURIST] Amnesty International [official website] Friday called for the US to open detention centers around the world to UN experts, expressing "deep regret" at the reluctance to to allow human rights experts to visit with detainees. The organization again called on Congress to create a commission to implement a full investigation into US detention and interrogation policies and practices. In a press statement, Amnesty said:

Allowing UN experts full access is a vital part of ensuring the international credibility of such an investigation...Shunning international law and denying detainees basic human rights will not bring security to the USA. It is time for the USA to fully re-engage with the international community in upholding human rights rules which the USA was material in shaping.

[JURIST] Federal law enforcment authorities in San Francisco have unsealed an indictment charging 19 people with drug trafficking and using three San Francisco medical marijuana dispensaries as fronts for organized crime. In marijuana raids conducted earlier this week [JURIST report] federal agents seized 9,309 marijuana plants, ecstasy, 3 firearms, and pot laced sweets including candy, cookies and brownies, in a raid of 26 different locations, including homes and businesses. The criminal complaint in the case alleges a large scale drug trafficking organization grew, imported, distributed and sold large quantities of marijuna and engaged in money laundering. US Attorney Kevin Ryan [official biography] would not say whether the raids were a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling in Gonzales v. Raich [PDF] making medical marijuana illegal, noting that the investigation had spanned the last 2 years, but San Francisco drug enforcement agents say they are empowered by the decision and vow to enforce it. The San Francisco Chronicle has more.

[JURIST] A federal court in Lausanne, Switzerland ruled Friday that former Russian nuclear minister Yevgeny Adamov [Wikipedia profile] must remain in a Swiss prison pending hearings on an extradition request from Russia, overruling a decision [Bellona report] two weeks ago ordering his release. Switzerland's Supreme Court [official website, in German] held that "in extradition procedures, the incarceration of the person sought is the rule, from which only exceptional cases should deviate." Adamov was Russia's atomic energy minister from 1998 to 2001, when he was accused of corruption. Adamov faces fraud charges in Russia and may also face extradition to the US [MosNews report], where he is charged with embezzling $9 million [JURIST report] designated for nuclear safety upgrades in Russia. He was arrested in Bern in May on a US warrant. Swiss Info has local coverage.

[JURIST] A three judge panel of the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals Friday rejected claims by thirteen states that the Bush administration's decision to let older power plants emit more pollution violates the Clean Air Act [text]. The policy upheld in State of New York v. EPA [PDF opinion] allows plants to modernize without requiring installation of expensive new pollution controls. The administration feared the mandatory upgrades would hinder innovation and changes that increase productivity. The court indicated it was unclear that the administration's changes in the New Source Review [EPA backgrounder] will lead to greater pollution. The EPA New Source Review rules apply to 17,000 facilities, including power plants, refineries, steel mills, and pharmaceutical factories. AP has more.

[JURIST] Zimbabwe's police chief has confirmed that 46,000 people have been arrested in "Operation Restore Order," a highly controversial government initiative to reduce crime and illegal buildings in Harare and other towns. The state demolition of "illegal" backyard shacks and showstalls, the arrest of street vendors and the confiscation of their property has drawn international condemnation for targetting the poor and for employing extreme violence which has left a rumber of people dead, including children. On Thursday a coalition of more than 200 NGOs called for a halt [JURIST report]. President Robert Mugabe has insisted that the Operation's goal is to "bettter the common man", improve infrastructure and fight crime in urban areas. According to the United Nations and the opposition, the exercise has left between 200,000 and 1.5 million people homeless, respectively. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has more.

[JURIST] An Italian official speaking anonymously said Friday that a judge in Milan has ordered the arrest of 13 CIA agents for their alleged role in aiding the deportation of an imam to Egypt [Washington Post report]. Italian newspapers claim the Milan seizure and deportation of an Egyptian known as Abu Omar in 2003 was part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program to move terror suspects to a third country without court approval. The reports claim six other agents are under investigation for the deportation of Omar, believed to have fought alongside jihadists in Afghanistan and Bosnia before being taken to a joint US-Italian military base for interrogation. The US Embassy in Rome [official website] would not comment on the report. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Center for Reproductive Rights [advocacy website; press release] and Planned Parenthood Federation of America [advocacy website; press release] have filed a federal suit claiming Florida's new Parental Notice of Abortion Act [text], taking effect July 1, can delay emergency treatment to girls. The Act, signed by Governor Jeb Bush [press release] in May and implementing a constitutional amendment [Vote Smart summary] passed by Florida voters in November 2004, requires doctors to phone or meet with parents 48 hours before a girl under the age of 17 has an abortion, unless that girl is married or already has a child. If such notification is not possible, the doctor can use certified mail 72 hours before the procedure. The law also provides a bypass of the requirements if the doctor determines there is not enough time to comply, and a judge can grant a waiver based on the patient's best interest, her level of maturity, and past abuse by her parents. According to state Senator Paula Dockery [official website], a sponsor of the bill, its wording already addresses the organization's concerns. The US Supreme Court is scheduled to address the requirement of health exceptions in abortion laws this fall in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England [Duke law backgrounder]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A member of the UN Committee against Torture [official website], speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP Friday that the US has acknowledged to the United Nations for the first time that instances of prisoner torture have occured in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. In a report to the Committee, the US admitted isolated incidents of torture committed by low-ranking members of the military that resulted in the guilty parties being punished. "They haven't avoided anything in their answers," AFP quotes the source as saying. The documents will be made public when Committee hearings are held in May 2006 to monitor adherence to the Convention against Torture and Other Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment [text]. Word of the acknowledgement of torture comes after a day after a UN investigator complained of US delays [JURIST report] in allowing a UN visit to Guantanamo. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Canadian lawmakers will extend their current session into the summer to push through the contentious Civil Marriage Act [text], which would legalize same-sex marriage across Canada. Government Liberals thwarted the plan of opposition Conservatives, who have staunchly opposed the bill, to end the session on a final budget vote next week. Instead, Liberals allied with the New Democratic Party [offical website] and forced a sudden budget vote late Thursday, which passed 152 to 147 and brought the same-sex marriage bill to the forefront. A majority of Canadians support same-sex marriage legislation. A New Brunswick judge ruled Thursday that the definition of civil marriage as between a man and a woman violated the rights of gay persons, and would have to be changed to "between two persons" [CBC News report]. That decision leaves Prince Edward Island., Alberta and the Northwest Territories as the only remaining Canadian jurisdictions that do not recognize same-sex marriage. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers involved in the huge litigation [official website; JURIST news archive] against Merck [corporate website] over its drug Vioxx [FDA overview] said Thursday that federal lawsuits against the drug company could begin in late autumn 2005. The first state trial begins in Texas next month with two more to follow in the late summer and a fourth in New Jersey. Disagreements over the turning over of evidence by Merck have slowed the process in the federal courts but a plan is being implemented to speed up the process and begin the first trials in New Orleans. The painkiller Vioxx was taken off the market [Merck press release] in September when a link was found between heart attacks and strokes and prolonged use of the drug. Some 3500 Vioxx-related lawsuits have since been launched in US federal and state courts. AP has more.

[JURIST] Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington Thursday, visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari [BBC profile] called for the trial of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein to get under way and be "over and done with", expressing exasperation with the Iraqi Special Tribunal (IST) [official website] constituted to investigate and hear his case. According to Jaafari, "There has indeed been some time wasting and I have spoken to the main judge responsible for trying Saddam Hussein... [Hussein] has committed all types of crimes and we do not want an extensive investigation. All we want is a verdict." Earlier this month the IST publicly balked [JURIST report] at government suggestions [JURIST report] that Saddam's trial was imminent. Jaafari himself has previously called for a swift trial [JURIST report] and said that Hussein could face the death penalty. AFP has more.

[JURIST] A senior Bosnian Serb police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Friday that seven Bosnian Serbs have been arrested in the past two days for involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre [BBC timeline; JURIST news archive]. The attorney general is reportedly pushing for a crackdown on the remaining Srebrenica fugitives though the attorney general's office was unwilling for comment. AFP has more. In Belgrade meanwhile, another report, Radio B92 says a source inside the Republic of Srpska Ministry of Interior [official website] is reporting 15 arrests, including four former and current police officers, on charges of involvement in the Srebrenica massacre. More arrests are expected over the next few days.

[JURIST] Ethiopian federal police Friday confirmed the release of 2,665 people arrested during recent election-related protests [JURIST report]. The Ethiopian Human Rights Council [advocacy website] had estimated over 3,000 arrests were made during demonstrations. According to police, the released prisoners were only minomally involved, but the cases of the others would require further investigation and the remainder would be tried in court. Pressure from the European Union [EU press release], donors and international humanitarian agencies is believed to have resulted in the mass release. Diplomats from the Irish, Swiss and US embassies inspected conditions at the federal prison where the protestors were held earlier in the week. South Africa's Mail & Guardian has more.

[JURIST] Interim Dean of Florida A&M University Law School [official website] James Douglas said Thursday that about 10 professors at the law school who have not been paid for the first summer session have threatened to stop teaching if they do not receive their agreed upon salaries. Douglas also said that some at the university felt that the salaries, $20,000 for four credit hours taught, were too high though they are comparable to salaries the past two summers and were agreed to by provost Larry Robinson. The University had budgeted only $13,000 for each professor. The unusual controversy comes as Florida A&M University [official website] is under criminal investigation [JURIST report] for misuse of taxpayer dollars in connection with a law school endowment and the law school dean has been suspended pending an payroll investigation. AP has more.

[JURIST] The director of Iraq's looted [missing artifacts database] National Museum warned a UNESCO meeting [official website] of the International Coordinating Committee to Safeguard the Cultural Heritage of Iraq Thursday that the purchase of stolen artifacts [BBC report] from Iraq is funding terrorist activity. "Rich people are buying stolen material . . . Money is going to Iraq and (terrorist groups) are buying weapons and ammunition to use against Iraqi police and American forces," Donny George [NPR interview] said. The UNESCO group is examining, planning, and creating new policies to reinforce international cooperation to safeguard Iraq's heritage. According to the committee, "Iraq's cultural treasures have been subjected to severe damage, including destruction, pillaging, and vandalism, during the revent conflict." George praised police in the US for doing an "excellent job" of reducing the flow of stolen artifacts there, but said many objects are still arriving there. The committee praised Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the US for efforts to hold Iraqi artifacts for safekeeping, but requested more cooperation from Turkey and Iran. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Wisconsin Assembly [official website] voted Thursday to approve one of the country's broadest bans on human cloning [bill text, PDF] in the state where embyonic stem cell research was pioneered [U. Wisconsin Stem Cell Research Program website] and a huge biotechnology infrastructure exists. In a 59-38 vote the Republican-dominated Assembly passed a measure that bans not only cloning to create another human life but also "therapeutic cloning" aimed at procuring stem cells. The Wisconsin Senate is expected to begin debating the issue as soon as next week but Democratic Governor Jim Doyle [official profile], who pushed hard to have "therapeutic cloning" removed from the ban, has said he will veto the measure. The University of Wisconsin-Madison holds the patents to the only US stem cell lines approved for federal funding. In a politically-related move earlier this month the Wisconsin Assembly voted to ban the "morning-after" emergency contraceptive pill [JURIST report] from state college campuses AP has more.