[JURIST] A military investigator appearing Wednesday before the Senate Armed Services Committee [official website] told lawmakers that certain terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] were degraded and abused by interrogators, but not tortured. Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall Schmidt [official profile], charged with investigating abuse allegations made by FBI agents at Guantanamo, testified and presented a report to the committee that detailed the treatment of Mohamed al-Qahtani, coined the 20th 9/11 highjacker. The report said that US interrogators told Qahtani that he was a homosexual, and forced him to dance with a male interrogator during sessions that often lasted up to 20 hours a day. It concluded, however, that no torture had occured. Army Gen. Bantz Craddock, head of Southern Command, later defended the actions of then-jail commander Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, and refused to reprimand Miller as Schmidt recommended [JURIST report], stating that Miller had violated no law by allowing the interrogations to proceed. Miller was subsequently assigned to run the Abu Ghraib facilty in Baghdad. Reuters has more.

5:20 PM ET 07/14/05 - The Defense Department has posted an online copy of the Schmidt report [PDF] entitled "Investigation into FBI Allegations of Detainee Abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Detention Facility."

[JURIST] The US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] heard oral arguments Wednesday in a challenge to Montana District Court Judge Richard Cebull's March ruling [JURIST report] barring the resumed importation of Canadian cattle to the US. US attorney Mark Stern represented the US Department of Agriculture, and urged the court to lift the temporary injunction that bars the shipment of live Canadian cattle under 30 months of age. Stern challenged respondents Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund [advocacy website] experts who contend that Canadian herds are often infected with BSE, also known as Mad Cow Disease [USDA fact sheet], and current border screening measures are insufficient to prevent the spread of the disease to livestock in the US. Canadian Press has more on Wednesday's arguments.

[JURIST] Following up on a story previously reported in JURIST’s Paper Chase, the House Select Committee on Intelligence [official website] Wednesday approved several measures porposed by Democrats during a markup session that would limit on governmental power under the Patriot Act [text]. The measures include a provision requiring federal agents to provide greater detail to judges before getting approval for roving wire taps [Center for Democracy & Technology background], and approval for a measure that allows the FBI to wiretap suspected "lone wolf" terrorists through 2010. The Republican-led committee rejected amendments presented by Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) [official website] that would have limited an investigators' ability to obtain documentary records from libraries or book stores. Read Chairman Pete Hoekstra's statement on Wednesday's markup session. AP has more.

[JURIST] French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy [BBC profile] announced Wednesday that his country will retake full control of its borders within the EU. Sarkozy cited security concerns created after the London bombings last week for the decision to activate the "safety clause" of the 1985 Schengen Treaty [text; Wikipedia backgrounder]. Under the treaty, France and many other EU member nations - including Switzerland, after a referendum last month [JURIST report] - agreed to establish passport-free zones, allowing EU citizens to move freely from country to country, but the treaty contains a clause that allows members to restore border controls under certain conditions. The BBC is reporting that Italy, which has also been tightening its security in recent days [JURIST report], will follow suit and reinforce its old border zones with Austria and Slovenia. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's corporations and securities news, shareholders of Sprint [corporate website] and Nextel [corporate website] approved Sprint's $36 billion bid to purchase Nextel. In a joint press release, the companies announced that 97 percent of voters approved of the merger. The deal still has several obstacles until it gains final approval, including resolving lawsuits from several affiliates of both companies and gaining regulatory approval. Earlier this week Sprint bought an affiliate that claimed the merger interfered with its contract [JURIST report] with Sprint, and now affiliate UbiquiTel [corporate website] has filed a lawsuit against Sprint. Reuters has more.

In other corporations and securities news...

• As reported earlier on JURIST's Paper Chase, former WorldCom [JURIST coverage] CEO Bernard Ebbers [Wikipedia profile] received a 25-year sentence today for his role in an accounting scheme that defrauded WorldCom shareholders out of $2.2 billion. Ebbers was convicted of fraud in March [JURIST report]. Bloomberg has more.
  
  
• Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson [corporate website] is under investigation by the SEC. The investigation follows a halt to production and shareholder lawsuits claiming the company greatly overvalued its stock. In a filing with the SEC, Harley-Davidson said, "in light of the pending shareholder litigation, the Company was not surprised by the SECÂ?s inquiry." Reuters has more.
  
  
• The SEC may sue bankcard issuer Metris Companies [corporate website]. In a press release, Metris announced that it had received a "Wells Notice" from the SEC informing the Minnesota-based company that the staff of the SEC intend to recommend the agency file suit against Metris. The company also said that the notice relates to the company's reporting of loan loss allowances and its interest in securitirized loans. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal has local coverage.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's states brief, the Michigan Supreme Court [official website] ruled today that citizens cannot sue Dow Chemical Company for the costs of testing for future dioxin-related health problems. The court stated that medical monitoring is not a legal claim in Michigan and the issue is better suited for the Legislature. Over 170 residents along the Tittabawassee River near a Dow Chemical Company [corporate website] plant in Midland filed suit, asking Dow to set up a trust fund to pay for medical monitoring. AP has more.

In other state legal news ...

• New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles Ramos ruled Wednesday that the New York Stock Exchange [official website] must turn over documents and analysis regarding its pending acquisition [JURIST report] of Archipelago Holdings, Inc. [corporate website], an all electronic exchange, to three seat holders. Attorneys for the NYSE argued that it should not be forced to selectively disclose documents to several seat holders and not the rest, especially when the details of the deal will be released in proxy statements. Seat holder William Higgins filed suit in May to stop the acquisition, claiming the deal undervalued the worth of the exchange. NYSE spokesman Ray Pellecchia confirmed that the exchange will appeal the decision. AP has more.
  
  
• The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that the state Democratic Party [party website] did nothing illegal in taking $100,000 from corporations and unions and using the money to pay overhead expenses. The opinion [PDF text] said that state law does prohibit corporations and unions from contributing money to influence elections and forbids candidates and campaign committees from accepting such funds; however, there is nothing in state law that prohibits a party from accepting such money and using it towards overhead expenses. The decision reversed a 2004 Court of Appeals ruling [PDF text] which found that it did not matter that the cash was going to overhead expenses as any money used to keep the party afloat was being used to influence elections. Arizona's Daily Sun has local coverage.
  
  
• Missouri Governor Matt Blunt has signed legislation [press release] fixing the state's 2003 concealed-gun law that was declared unconstitutional by the state's Supreme Court in 2004. In that decision [text], the court ruled that the law's funding method could impose an unconstitutional, unfunded mandate on local governments by allowing sheriffs to use the concealed-gun permit fee only for equipment and training, but not for personnel and fingerprinting costs. The new law [text] allows sheriffs to use the permit fee to cover all concealed-gun law costs. The law becomes effective immediately. AP has more.

[JURIST] Prosecutors announced Wednesday that they will not appeal a judge's decision to drop perjury charges [JURIST report] against former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy [JURIST news archive], who was previously acquitted of fraud charges [JURIST report]. Immediately after the acquittal, government attorneys said they planned to get the perjury charges reinstated. Even with the criminal issues over, Scrushy still faces civil litigation [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Despite calls for urgent action by advocacy groups [JURIST report] and a UN panel recommendation, UN officials indicated Wednesday that the UN Security Council was moving slowly on the establishment of a tribunal in investigate the East Timor violence of 1999 [BBC backgrounder], waiting to publish the full UN panel report proposing the establishment of a tribunal [JURIST report] until both Indonesia and East Timor have added their views. The decision to hold off on publication came at the request of the US, China, and Russia. The report, leaked but not officially published, has already been rejected by Indonesia [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Chief Justice William Rehnquist [JURIST news archive] has been hospitalized with a fever. A US Supreme Court spokeswoman said he was "admitted for observation and tests." AP has more.

[JURIST] Two days after US House Judiciary Committee [official site] Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) [official profile] introduced a bill [HR 3199 text] to make existing provisions of the Patriot Act [JURIST news archive] permanent, Judiciary Committee members Wednesday debated a possible GOP compromise on term lengths for the new provisions. Dan Lungren (R-CA) [official website] has proposed renewing two provisions for 10 years instead of permanently: the government's power to secretly obtain private records, and the power to wiretap multiple phones used by a suspect with a warrant for only one line. Bobby Scott (D-VA) [official website] previously proposed an amendment calling for reauthorization in 2009 that was defeated along party lines; Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) [official website] offered another with a 2011 date. Sensebrenner hopes to bring the bill to the full House for a vote next week. Reuters has more.

8:30 PM ET - The House Judiciary Committee later approved the renewal legislation as amended by a vote of 23-14. The Committee has issued this press release.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's international brief, following a statement by military commander Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama [official profile], head of Fiji's military forces, that the army "will have no qualms about removing a government that will bring back chaos," Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase [official profile] said that the Fiji government [official website] would reconsider provisions of the Reconciliation, Tolerance and Unity Bill [official PDF text] that would have granted amnesty to participants in the attempted 2000 coup led by George Speight [Wikipedia profile]. Speight, currently serving a term of life incarceration for treason, would have been able to apply to have his case reviewed under the current working of the bill, and if his actions were deemed political instead of criminal, he would have been granted amnesty. Qarase was installed as interim leader after the military suppressed the attempted coup, and was elected in 2002 in national elections as Prime Minister. He has been a strong proponent for reconciliation, but has faced increasing public resistance over the specifics of the bill to be presented to the Fiji Parliament [government website]. The Fiji Times has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• The Ugandan Parliament [government website] voted overwhelmingly in favor of the third Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2005 which included a clause to remove the current constitutional term limits [constitution Chapter 7 text] placed on the Ugandan presidency. The removal of the term limits will allow current Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni [official profile] to run for a third term in 2006, as well as any future terms he wishes too, as the clause simply removed all limits on reelection, rather than expanding the number of allowed terms. Opponents of the clause's inclusion argued that Uganda, among many other African nations, had not truly transitioned to democratic government in light of the state's manipulation of electoral processes. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Uganda [JURIST news archive]. Uganda's Monitor has local coverage.
  
  
• The Ethiopian government [DC embassy website] has defended its criminal prosecution of at least eight different local newspaper editors as part of "upholding the law of the land" and denied charges made by international media group Committee to Protect Journalists [advocacy website] that it was conducting a "crack-down" on media rights. Ethiopian officials said that all of the editors charged violated Ethiopia's journalism laws and were not being prosecuted for their published criticisms of the government's conduct in the heavily disputed May 15 parliamentary elections. Read the CPJ press release alleging government misconduct. IRIN has more.
  
  
• Nepalese Vice-Chairman of Council of Ministers Kirtinidhi Bista [Katmandu Online profile] has reiterated the position of the Nepalese government that outside help is not needed in resolving the country's current political and military problems. Bista spoke to the press following a meeting with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s Special Adviser Lakhdar Brahimi, and told reporters that Nepal would not accept help from the United Nations in resolving the alleged political crisis that exists folloing the abolition of the elected government [JURIST report] by King Gyanedra [official profile] and the military conflict between the government and Maoist rebels. International and domestic rights groups have continually requested support and intervention from the UN and other international bodies, but the Nepalese government has maintained that it is competent to handle its own internal affairs. The UN must have permission from member-states before it can intervene in internal situations unless the UN Security Council finds that the situation is a threat to international peace and security. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. Nepal News has local coverage.

[JURIST] Ali al-Timimi [Wikipedia profile; advocacy website], an Islamic scholar from Fairfax, Virginia, was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday after he was convicted of soliciting others [JURIST report] to levy war against the US, inducing others to aid the Taliban, and inducing others to use firearms in violation of federal law. He led a group of Virginia men that authorities called a "jihad network". Nine members of that group have been convicted of related offenses and sentenced to terms ranging from three years to life in prison. AP has more.

[JURIST] European Union Interior and Justice ministers Wednesday voiced support for new security measures [JURIST report] proposed at a meeting called in the wake of last Thursday's London bomings. The new rules would require telecommunications companies to retain and allow access to up to year-old communications data [AFP report]. The ministers' meeting is also expected to produce a joint mission statement in which EU ministers will commit to improving police cooperation and information sharing, studying terror recruitment, and overhauling shipping and aviation security. AFP has more.

8:45 PM ET - The joint statement of EU ministers condenming the London bombings and setting tighter EU security measures in motion is now online from the Home Office.

[JURIST] Former WorldCom [MCIWorldCom website] CEO Bernard Ebbers [JURIST news archive] was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison. US District Court Judge Barbara Jones handed down the sentence three years after WorldCom collapsed in an $11 billion accounting fraud, losing billions for investors. In March 2005 Ebbers was found guilty of fraud, conspiracy, and filing false documents with regulators. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Iraq has accepted an offer from the Arab League [official website, Wikipedia backgrounder] to lend expertise and support to the committee [official website] established to draft the Iraqi constitution [JURIST news archive]. Meanwhile the drafting and consultation process continues as the August 15 deadline for approval approaches. A document that is supposedly a draft of a proposed Bill of Rights has been leaked; the Carnegie Endowment [advocacy website] has posted a translation with commentary [PDF text], and the the Turkish Cihan News Agency reported Wednesday that a draft of the full constitution has been submitted to parliament [Zaman report]. AKI has more.

[JURIST] US President George Bush said Wednesday that he will not comment on top aide Karl Rove's involvement in leaking the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame [Wikipedia profile] until a federal criminal investigation into the controversy is complete. Bush called it a "serious investigation" and said he would "not prejudge the investigation based on media reports." The remarks come after Karl Rove's attorney on Sunday denied that Rove leaked Plame's identity [JURIST report] to TIME reporter Matthew Cooper, although a Newsweek article said Rove had spoken to Cooper and revealed Plame's role without naming her. Bush's comments came shortly after Cooper showed up at US District Court Wednesday where a grand jury investigating the leak was meeting. Cooper, who did not comment while entering the courthouse, is expected to testify [JURIST report]. In September 2003, Bush told reporters [White House transcript] when the leak was initially alleged, "If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of." Federal law provides in 50 USC s. 421(a) that

Whoever, having or having had authorized access to classified information that identifies a covert agent, intentionally discloses any information identifying such covert agent to any individual not authorized to receive classified information, knowing that the information disclosed so identifies such covert agent and that the United States is taking affirmative measures to conceal such covert agent’s intelligence relationship to the United States, shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

[JURIST] Raed Juhi, a senior judge on the Iraqi Special Tribunal [JURIST news archive; official website], said Wednesday that the Tribunal's investigations of the case against Saddam Hussein are "more than 80 percent complete". He said the court's investigating judges are not the ones to set a trial date, but according to a source a five-judge panel will set a trial date soon. The Iraqi government has pressed to get the trial started quickly [JURIST report], but shakeups to Saddam's defense team [JURIST report] and alleged outside pressure [JURIST report] have slowed the timetable. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Argentine newspaper La Nacion reported Wednesday that Argentina has taken formal responsibility for its failure to discover who was behind the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center [Wikipedia backgrounder; AMIA center website] in Buenos Aires that killed 86 people and that Argentine President Nestor Kirchner [Wikipedia profile] has admitted that previous administrations tried to downplay the failures in the investigation. Kirchner added that the families of the victims would now have a chance to receive federal compensation for their losses. US, Israeli, and Argentine officials blame Iran for being behind the attacks, a claim adamantly denied by Iran. Read the Nacion article [in Spanish]. UPI has more.

[JURIST] Texas District Judge Robert Perkins [official website] Tuesday reaffirmed an indictment for violations of a state law regarding corporate campaign contributions against an ally of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). John Colyandro, executive director of Texans for a Republican Majority [Wikipedia backgrounder], was indicted last September on charges of illegally collecting campaign money. The court rejected defense arguments that the ban was vague and unconstitutional. A civil ruling in May upheld the law and ordered the group's treasurer [Washington Post report] to pay damages to defeated candidates. Judge Perkins also indicated a likely dismissal of a similar motion by defense lawyers next month in another criminal case related to the group. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Italian police executed 200 search warrants [Reuters report] across the country Wednesday, searching for illegal arms and explosives, the public security department for the Italian Interior Ministry [official website, in Italian] announced. The raids did not lead to any immediate arrests but police are investigating a range of crimes from falsifying documents to terrorism, primarily in Milan, Rome, Turin and Naples. A similar security sweep was conducted around Milan [JURIST report] immediately after the London bombings. Also in Italy Wednesday, two Islamic extremists were convicted by an Italian judge for their involvement in a plot to attack a Milan subway station and a Cremona church. Mohamed Rafik was given a 4 year, 8 month prison sentence, while Kamel Hamroui, was sentenced to a 3 year, 4 month term. Two other suspects were cleared of all terrorism charges. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The pro-hunting Countryside Alliance [advocacy website] Wednesday challenged Britain's recent ban on fox hunting with dogs [JURIST report] in the House of Lords Wednesday by questioning the Parliament Act [Wikipedia backgrounder' UK Parliament research paper], the law that allowed the lower house of parliament, the House of Commons, to pass the legislation over the objection of the upper chamber. "The challenge to the Parliament Act is not about hunting - it's about the constitutional arrangements of our country and respect for the law,'' said Countryside Alliance Chief Executive Simon Hart. If overturned, the ruling could affect other cases involving statutes passed under the Parliament Act, including legislation equalizing the age of consent between heterosexuals and homosexuals and the War Crimes Act in 1991, which extended the jurisdiction of British courts to acts committed on behalf of Nazi Germany during WWII. Read the Countryside Alliance press release on their House of Lords arguments. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] Police in the Netherlands announced Wednesday the arrest of a 17-year-old boy as part of an investigation into the Hofstad terrorist group that killed filmmaker Theo van Gogh [JURIST report]. Police found a homemade bomb in the boy's room. Although he was investigated for publishing extremist Muslim texts on the Internet, they doubt he is a member of the group [AFP report]. He is charged with acting to prepare an attack. Bloomberg has more. From Amsterdam, NOS television provides local coverage in Dutch.

[JURIST] Parliamentary members of Zimbabwe's ruling African National Union-Patriotic Front [official website] party Tuesday defeated an opposition proposal that would have ended the government's controversial home demolition program [JURIST report]. "Operation Restore Order" has resulted in 30,000 arrests of illegal squatters and merchants, and left anywhere from 300,000 to 1 million people homeless. The government has defended the plan as a simple urban renewal cleanup of illegal structures, but it has been criticized by the G8 summit [JURIST report], hundreds of NGOs [JURIST report], and South African church leaders [AP report] for being a repressive move against the most vulnerable members of Zimbabwe's urban communities, mant of whom are politically opposed to President Robert Mugabe. Voice of America has more.

[JURIST] Human rights groups including the East Timor and Indonesia Action Network [advocacy website press release] and Human Rights Watch [advocacy website press release] have urged UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to support a UN panel's recommendation for an international tribunal [JURIST report; UN panel report summary] to investigate atrocities committed after East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia in 1999. Indonesia opposes such a tribunal [JURIST report], and activist groups are worried that war crimes will go unpunished if the UN does not step in. Radio Australia has more.

[JURIST] A New York prosecutor Tuesday dropped all charges against New Paltz [official website] Mayor Jason West, who could have faced jail time for marrying gay couples on the steps of the village hall. In May 2005, 24 misdemeanor counts were filed against West 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. Throughout the 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. The Boston Globe has more.

[JURIST] Speaking in the British House of Commons Wednesday one day after police revealed that the perpetrators of the London bombings were British nationals, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his government would tighten border controls to keep out individuals preaching religious hatred and would take steps to deport from the United Kingdom those already doing so. He also said that within the next couple of weeks the government would begin consultations with the opposition on new anti-terror legislation scheduled to be introduced after Parliament reconvenes in October [JURIST report] following a summer recess that begins next week, although he has reserved the right to accelerate that timetable if police investigations require. 10 Downing Street has issed a press statement. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Judge William G. Young, chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts [official website] in Boston, issued a 107-page ruling Tuesday chastising Congress for a "virtually unprecedented" attack on judicial independence and for putting a "chokehold" on federal courts by removing their authority to hear deportation cases. Young says the recently-passed Real ID Act [legislation summary; JURIST report] makes it harder for immigrants to gain amnesty by requiring deportation cases to be heard in a federal court of appeals. The case in question concerned Frank Enwonwu, a Nigerian national and former government informant, facing deportation because of a 1986 drug conviction. Young wrote, "Congress does not much care about immigrant aliens, even those who, after endangering themselves assisting our law enforcement efforts to stem international drug trade, are deported into the hands of the very drug traders upon whom they have informed." AP has more.

[JURIST] Near the end of his trial [JURIST report] in Amsterdam Tuesday, Muslim extremist Mohammed Bouyeri [Wikipedia profile] confessed to the November 2004 murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh [Wikipedia profile], saying "if I were released and would have the chance to do it again. . . I would do exactly the same thing." Bouyeri added that he stabbed, shot and almost beheaded Van Gogh because his faith required him to "cut off the head of anyone who insults Allah and his prophet." Van Gogh's film, "Submission" [synopsis and clip of film] criticized the treatment of Islamic women. Bouyeri is believed to be a member of the Hofstad Network [Wikipedia profile], a terrorist cell linked to Syrian spiritual leader Redouan al-Issar [profile]. He has offered no defense to the charges against him; a verdict is expected later this month. AP has more.