[JURIST] The Italian Senate [official website, in Italian] on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that grants increased powers to both the prime minister and to regional governments within Italy [JURIST news archive]. Legislators approved the changes by a 170-132 vote, bringing to a close months of vigorous debate on the issue that at times threatened to break up the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [official profile]. However, because the reforms were not approved by a two-thirds majority in the legislature, they will not take effect unless approved in a referendum scheduled for April 2006. Known as the devolution bill, the amendment will grant the country's 20 regional governments autonomy over healthcare, schools and police. Opponents to the changes argued that they would disrupt national unity and result in more bureaucracy at the regional level. The amendment also grants the prime minister more power, including the authority to dissolve parliament and to select and dismiss ministers, changes that will likely result in more stable governments in the country. The amendment changes about 50 of the 139 articles of the Italian Constitution [text]. La Repubblica has local coverage [in Italian] of the amendment. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Congressional Republicans on Wednesday said they planned to move forward with the Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005 [bill summary], legislation aimed at speeding up executions in the US by limiting the number of appeals that can be made by defendants. Sen. Arlen Specter [official website] said he planned to bring the bill up for a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] on Thursday, while a similar bill is also going forward in the House. The bill restricts the ability of defendants to seek writs of habeas corpus [LectLaw backgrounder] to have their appeals heard in federal courts. The bill was the subject of a Judiciary Committee hearing [witness list] on Wednesday, in which Sen. Patrick Leahy [official website] said the law addressed a "nonexistent problem." Another provision that is attached to the USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill would subject arguments by defendants that they had incompetent counsel to review by the attorney general rather than a federal judge. According to the Department of Justice, the number of people sentenced to death and executed has been falling [JURIST report], with 59 executed and 125 sentenced to death in 2004. Both the American Bar Association and the Judicial Conference of the United States [official websites] have opposed the legislation [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit [official website] on Wednesday upheld a narrower version of a preliminary injunction [JURIST report] imposed against Missouri's 24-hour informed consent abortion law [text]. In a 2-1 decision [full opinion, PDF], the court ordered the district court to issue a modified injunction that did not cover a basic consent process already upheld by the US Supreme Court's 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey [opinion text]. The court also ordered that the injunction automatically expire 10 days after the Missouri Supreme Court [official website] issues a decision on the constitutionality of the law. The state court heard oral arguments in the case last week, but it has not yet ruled on the issue. Missouri [JURIST news archive] legislators passed the law, which requires doctors to wait 24 hours after meeting with a woman before performing an abortion, in 2003 over a veto by the governor. Planned Parenthood groups have challenged the law, arguing that the consultation requirements, which cover the "physical, psychological and situational" risks involved, were unconstitutionally vague. AP has more.

[JURIST] The French Senate [official website, in French] on Wednesday approved a three-month extension [legislative materials, in French] of emergency powers for local governments still struggling to control rioting around the country. The Senate's approval came a day after the lower house approved the extension that had earlier won approval in the cabinet [JURIST report]. The powers, granted earlier this month [JURIST report] and derived from a 50-year-old law [JURIST document], allow local authorities to impose curfews, prevent public gatherings and search homes. In a sign that the violence was abating, only 163 cars were burnt Tuesday night, down from a high of 1,400 in a single night during the nearly three weeks of violence that have troubled France. Opposition parties opposed the extension, but President Jacques Chirac [official profile] said the emergency powers were only temporary and should only be used where necessary. Authorities believe that the violence, which largely has occurred in crowded and poor suburbs outside Paris, has been fueled by racial tension, while members of Chirac's party suggested that polygamy played a role [Le Monde report, in French] by leaving many children without a father figure in overcrowded conditions. BBC News has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: France | Text: French state of emergency laws

[JURIST] US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist [official website] on Wednesday promised [floor remarks] that long-awaited legislation to establish a $140 billion compensation fund for asbestos [JURIST news archive; EPA backgrounder] victims would top the Senate agenda when it reconvenes in January. Frist said there would be "no more delay," on the Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act of 2005 [bill summary], which was co-sponsored by Sens. Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy. Legislators have been unable to come up with a suitable solution to resolve the hundreds of thousands of asbestos injury claims of those harmed by the carcinogenic material. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid [official website] said that the asbestos legislation was not suitable in its current form and expressed concern over whether a compensation fund created by the legislation would remain viable. A similar concern prompted members of the Senate Budget Committee [official website] to seek a further delay [Reuters report] for the legislation. The bill was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee [JURIST report] in May, but Frist did not bring it to the Senate floor due to concerns over whether it would have sufficient support. The Senate committee will hold a hearing [hearing notice] Thursday on the issue of projecting future asbestos claims. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward [Wikipedia profile] disclosed Wednesday that he testified earlier this week before a federal grand jury that he was told the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame several weeks before her identity was published, evidence that prosecutors are continuing to investigate the leak of Plame's identity. Woodward's statement [text] comes more than two weeks after Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald [official website] announced the indictment of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [PDF text; JURIST report], former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, for perjury and obstruction of justice. Woodward said he testified about interviews with three administration officials, one of whom was Libby. Although he did not name the other two officials, Woodward said that he was told of Plame's identity [AP report] by an official other than Libby. Woodward said he was contacted by Fitzgerald after one of the officials whom he interviewed told Fitzgerald about the meeting. He said the mention of Plame was "casual and offhand." Fitzgerald has been investigating the disclosure [JURIST news archive] of Plame's identity, which was ultimately published by columnist Robert Novak on July 14, 2003. Plame's husband, Joseph Wilson, had alleged that the Bush administration intentionally released her identity after he criticized its use of intelligence in the run up to the Iraq war. Reuters has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: The Devil in the Details: The CIA Leak Case | Op-ed: The Indictment of Scooter Libby: Bad News for Journalism

[JURIST] The US government has again refused a UN demand to have unconditional access [JURIST report] for inspectors to Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees. A State Department spokesman said Tuesday that the US would allow inspections, but that it would not agree to unfettered access for representatives from the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture [official website] during a visit scheduled for Dec. 6. The US has maintained that it has allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross [official website] access to the prison and that it has consulted with the governments of nationals detained at Guantanamo, which the government officials said were sufficient safeguards. The UN has threatened to cancel its visit to the facility unless it is allowed to meet with detainees. The State Department has a transcript of the press briefing. Angola Press has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• UN inspectors call for unrestricted access to Guantanamo
• Rumsfeld defends prohibiting UN interviews with Guantanamo detainees
• UN investigators decline Gitmo invitation unless detainees can be interviewed
• UN human rights experts invited to Guantanamo

[JURIST] The US Department of Defense [official website] has delayed the release of a new US Army [official website] manual on interrogation of detainees aimed at eliminating harsh procedures that came to light at Abu Ghraib [JURIST news archive] prison in Iraq. The manual was scheduled to be released Wednesday, and sources said the delay in release was "open-ended." Pentagon officials said that the White House felt the manual was too vague as to what interrogation tactics were appropriate and sought further review by top US military commanders. The manual requires compliance with the Geneva Conventions [text] and other treaties on humane treatment of detainees, and it bars certain tactics like sleep deprivation, stripping prisoners and using dogs during interrogations. A White House spokeswoman denied that the delay in the release was ordered by the Bush administration. The White House has been battling with Congress over the interrogation issue. Sen. John McCain [official website] introduced a measure [JURIST document] that would adopt the proposed Army manual as US policy. The bill was approved in the Senate [JURIST report], but the White House has threatened to veto it [JURIST report; White House policy statement, PDF]. The Chicago Tribune has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Torture | Op-ed: Perjury, Lies and Degrading Treatment: The Case for the McCain Amendment

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's environmental law news, the European Commission [official website] has agreed to amend the draft version of the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals Act (REACH) [EU backgrounder] to limit some of the chemicals that would have to be tested when produced in, or imported to, the EU in small quantities. REACH is scheduled for a vote in the European Parliament [official website] on Thursday. Reuters has more.

In other environmental law news...

• Maine's Attorney General [official website] is investigating negotiations between the Maine Department of Environmental Protection [official website] and private paper companies regarding water quality standards. The negotiations took place in private, and may have violated Maine's Freedom of Access Act [text] which requires that regulatory standards be subject to public review and that records be available to the public. The Portland Press Herald has more.

[JURIST] An Iranian appeals court has upheld [AFP report] the acquittal [JURIST report] of the intelligence agent who was accused of murdering Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi [CBC backgrounder], lawyers said Wednesday. Kazemi died in 2003, while being detained for photographing a demonstration outside a Tehran prison; evidence of torture and rape surfaced after her death [JURIST report]. Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi, the intelligence agent accused of Kazemi's murder, was acquitted last year and her family supported his innocence through the appeals process, claiming that a judiciary officer is the real murderer and alleging a cover-up by the government. In addition to upholding Ahmadi's acquittal, the court also ordered that the case be reopened, due to the possibility that other people were involved in Kazemi's death. The case has severely strained relations between Iran and Canada. Earlier this year, Iran denied Canada's demands for her body [JURIST report], saying Canada had no authority since Iran does not recognize dual nationality. CBC News has more. From Iran, IRNA has local coverage.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Iran arrests lawyer investigating death of Canadian photojournalist
• Iranian court refuses to reopen investigation into journalist death
• Doctor says photojournalist killed in Iranian detention was tortured, raped
• Acquittal in Kazemi death appealed
• Appeal can be made on Kazemi ruling, Iranian official says
• Iranian judiciary calls Canadian photojournalist's death an accident
• UN experts call on Iran to observe human rights norms in Kazemi trial

[JURIST] Legislators on Wednesday reached a tentative compromise on the USA Patriot Act and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 [bill summary] that would limit certain law enforcement powers under the statute while making most of the provisions permanent. Following the deal reached by the conference committee, Republican leaders pushed for a vote on the bill on Thursday in the House and by the end of the week in the Senate. Under the draft, the Justice Department would be required to report annually to Congress on its use of national security letters [PDF sample text; ACLU backgrounder], which allow the FBI to obtain people's phone, Internet and business records. The USA Patriot Act [text; JURIST news archive] lowered the threshold needed to be shown by law enforcement to obtain access to the records, requiring only a showing that the records are "relevant" to a terrorist investigation. Several provisions were still scheduled to sunset under the compromise, although Republicans and Democrats appeared to disagree whether the period would be four or seven years. If approved, the bill would mark the first changes to the Act since it was hastily passed following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. AP has more.

[JURIST] Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid [official website] on Wednesday said in a Senate speech [transcript] that he has "significant concerns" about US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito [official profile], who Reid said was one of the most conservative judges in the country. Reid said that recent reports about an anti-abortion statement made by Alito [JURIST report] while serving in the Department of Justice in 1985 hinted at how Alito viewed the issue. Alito has distanced himself from the comment [JURIST report], which he said was made in a job application. Reid criticized President Bush for not consulting with Democrats before nominating Alito, and he also said that Alito failed to diversify the make-up of the Court. Alito will replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor [Oyez profile] if confirmed, and some have criticized Bush for not nominating another woman or a Hispanic after the nomination of Harriet Miers [JURIST news archive] was withdrawn. Reid said that Alito's background as an appeals court judge failed to diversify the Court, as the other sitting justices all previously served as appeals court judges. Reid, responding to an op-ed [Chicago Tribune report] by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist [official website] saying that he would move forward with a rules change if Democrats tried to filibuster Alito's nomination, said that Democrats had not raised the issue of using a filibuster. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Samuel Alito | Op-ed: Why Feminists and Liberals Have Nothing to Fear from Judge Alito

[JURIST] A German court has charged three Iraqi German residents with conspiring to kill former Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi [JURIST news archive] and membership in a terrorist organization, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday. German authorities arrested [JURIST report] all three the morning of December 3, 2004, the day they planned to attack Allawi while he attended an event at a Deutsche Bank branch in downtown Berlin. Two of the men, identified only as Mazen A. H. and Rafik M. Y., are said to be members of the Kurdish militant group Ansar al Islam [Iraqi News profile], while the third, Ata R., was described as a ringleader. Ata R. and Mazen A. H. face additional charges for fund-raising for the terrorist organization. According to a spokeswoman for the prosecutors, there is a maximum sentence of 10 years for membership in a terrorist organization, but no maximum for the conspiracy charge. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN's World Summit on the Information Society [official website] opened Wednesday in Tunisia as participants reached an 11th-hour agreement on a draft declaration [PDF text] which will leave the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) [official website] in charge of overseeing the main computers that control Internet traffic. Pakistan and other countries had called for the UN or another international body to assume responsibility for the system, but ultimately agreed to create an international forum where Internet issues can be raised. The Internet Governance Forum would begin operating next year, but would not have binding authority. The draft declaration is expected to be ratified by the end of the three-day summit. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan opened the summit by calling [statement text] for participants to focus on the needs of developing countries and outline a specific plan to provide information and communication technologies to the world's poor. AP has more.

Meanwhile, three UN human rights experts on Wednesday took an opportunity during the summit to urge Tunisia, the summit's controversial host [JURIST report], to improve its record on human rights. Hina Jilani [UN mandate], Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Representative on human rights defenders, Ambeyi Ligabo [UN mandate], the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and Leandro Despouy, the Commission's Special Rapporteur on the independence of judge's and lawyers, voiced "profound concern" about numerous attacks on organizations, individuals and judges for raising human rights issues in public. According to the experts, the Tunisian government has also systematically banned labor unions, human rights organizations, and meetings among journalists, judges and attorneys. The UN News Centre has more.

[JURIST] Iraqi human rights officials are investigating reports that US troops in Iraq used white phosphorus [CDC factsheet; GlobalSecurity.org backgrounder] as an incendiary weapon during a 2004 military assault on the insurgent-controlled city of Fallujah. According to Acting Human Rights Minister Narmin Uthman, a team of investigators has gone to Fallujah to examine the possible effects of the substance on civilians. The US was first reported to have fired white phosphorus rounds [SF Chronicle report] at the time, and rights organizations expressed repeated concerns over alleged violations of international humanitarian law [JURIST report] during the siege. The allegations resurfaced earlier this month when an Italian television station aired a documentary accusing the US of using chemical weapons against civilians [JURIST report]. In 2004, the US denied the allegations [USINFO report] and said that white phosphorus shells "were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters," however, officials now admit they used white phosphorus as a psychological weapon against insurgents in trench lines and a Pentagon officials said Tuesday that white phosphorous had been used against enemy combatants [JURIST report]. US officials remain adamant that the substance was not used against civilians and have said that white phosphorus is not banned by any international weapons convention the US has signed. The use of incendiary weapons against civilians has been banned by a protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons [text] since 1980, but the US has not signed the protocol. BBC News has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Pentagon acknowledges use of white phosphorus against Iraqi enemy fighters
• US denies using white phosphorus in Iraq, admits using napalm-like substance
• US military accused of illegally using chemical weapons against Iraqis

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Crimes of Fallujah and the Continuation of Aggressive War

[JURIST] Judge Patrick Robinson, who is presiding over the trial of Slobodan Milosevic [BBC profile] at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website], adjourned the proceedings Wednesday after Milosevic said he was too ill to call his next witness. Robinson stopped the hearings and called for Milosevic to be examined at the tribunal; it was later announced that proceedings will resume Monday [press release]. The delay comes one day after Milosevic requested a six-week recess [JURIST report] in the trial, which began almost 4 years ago and has been postponed multiple times due to Milosevic's health issues. A three-judge panel has agreed to consider the request, but has not yet issued a ruling. Milosevic is defending himself against genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity charges [ICTY case backgrounder], and has refused to accept a defense lawyer. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Topic: Milosevic Trial | Topic: ICTY | Op-ed: Meltdown at the Milosevic Trial: A Much Delayed Rush to Judgment

[JURIST] Peru's Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a prosecutor's request to extradite former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori [personal website] from Chile so that he can face corruption and human rights charges in Peru. Supreme Court Justice Jose Luis Lecaros denied the request because the anti-corruption prosecutor sought to extradite Fujimori on the crime of abandoning his position as president of Peru, which is not a crime in Chile and therefore does not satisfy the requirements of Peru and Chile's bilateral extradition treaty. Fujimori was president of Peru until he fled the country for Japan in 2000 and subsequently resigned his position. Fujimori was arrested in Chile [JURIST report] earlier this month at the request of the Peruvian government and faces 21 charges of corruption and human rights abuses [IPS report], which could bring a total prison sentence of 225 years if he is convicted. Fujimori had arrived from Japan in an effort to reenter Peru and run for the presidency in April 2006, despite the fact that he has been banned from holding public office [JURIST report] until 2010. AFP has more.

[JURIST] UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke [official profile] ordered Wednesday that British citizen Babar Ahmad [advocacy website; BBC profile] be extradited to the United States where he will face charges of terrorism, conspiring to kill Americans and running a website used to fund terrorists and recruit al Qaeda members. Ahmad was charged in August 2004 and subsequently arrested in Britain on a US extradition warrant. A UK court ruled in May [JURIST report] that Ahmad could be extradited, hearing the case under a "fast track" extradition procedure authorized by the UK Extradition Act 2003 [text], which allows certain countries, including the US, to seek extradition without providing evidence of alleged crimes. The court's decision required Clarke's approval, but Ahmad's family has indicated that it will appeal the decision. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• UK court allows extradition of British terror suspect to US
• Indicted US terror suspect running for UK parliament from prison
• UK terrorism suspect charged, faces extradition to US

[JURIST] Former Bosnian Army commander Sefer Halilovic [ICTY case backgrounder] was acquitted Wednesday by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] on war crimes charges [indictment]. The ICTY ruled that court prosecutors did not prove that Halilovic, the most senior Bosnian Muslim commander to face trial at the tribunal, was in charge of troops that killed 62 Croat civilians in 1993 during an operation by Muslim forces to retake territory in an effort to end the blockade of the city of Mostar. The ICTY ordered that Halilovic be released from custody immediately. Read the tribunal's 309-page judgment [PDF text] and press release. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Massachusetts legislators Tuesday rejected a bill 100-53 which proposed the reinstatement of the death penalty. Massachusetts has not used capital punishment since 1947. The bill was proposed in April [JURIST report; press release] by Republican Governor Mitt Romney [official website] who is considering running for president in 2008. Romney has asserted that the bill contained "foolproof" provisions [JURIST report] to prevent innocent people being executed as the death penalty would only be given in first-degree murder cases which relied on "conclusive scientific evidence" such as DNA or fingerprints. However, this was rejected by former state prosecutor and now state representative Democrat Rep. David Linksy [official website] who said that there would be "no guarantee under this bill, or under any other death penalty bill, that we wouldn't execute an innocent person." Massachusetts is one of only 12 US states without the death penalty. In 1997, a push to reimpose the death penalty in Massachusetts also failed, but only by a single vote, suggesting that there is now greater opposition to such a measure. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's international brief, Former Indonesian acting secretary-general of the General Elections Commission (KPU) [official website in Bahasa Indonesian] Sussongko Sahardjo has been found guilty on charges of corruption and bribery [JURIST report] and is facing sentencing that could result in nearly 13 years incarceration. Prosecutors from Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) [official website in Bahasa Indonesian] asked the Anti-Corruption Court to sentence Sahardjo to the maximum allowed punishment, including compensation to the government, which, if Sahardjo and his co-defendant cannot pay, would result in four years extra incarceration above the eight years already requested. The court has not specified when it will release its sentencing ruling. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Indonesia [JURIST news archive]. The Jakarta Post has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• The National Elections Commission of Liberia [official website] reported that a preliminary tally of votes cast in the November 8 presidential election has been completed and has put Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf [party profile] of the Unity Party in the lead with 59.4 percent of the vote. If confirmed as President, Johnson-Sirleaf will be the first female head-of-state on the African continent. The official certification of the vote will not occur until November 23 and the NEC has already announced that a public hearing will be held to investigate complaints from the Congress for Democratic Change party [official website], which has already demanded that the election results be overturned and has threatened to not seat any of its members of parliament if Johnson-Sirleaf is confirmed as president. Nearly thirty accredited international electoral observer missions [NEC list] watched the elections, and all of the reports released so far have praised the electoral process as fair, transparent, and peaceful. View the official NEC preliminary results. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Liberia [JURIST news archive]. The Liberian Times has local coverage.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice [official website] said Tuesday that it is backing an attempt by congressional Republicans to split up the largest federal appeals court in the US, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website], which currently covers 54 million people and has 28 judgeships. In a letter addressed to House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) [official website] released Tuesday by Sen. Jon Ensign (R-NV), Assistant Attorney General William E. Moschella [White House profile] wrote that dividing up the Ninth Circuit would improve the administration of justice, saying that the size of the Ninth Circuit has lead to "serious administrative difficulties that have adversely affected its ability to render justice efficiently." Sensenbrenner introduced legislation [JURIST report] last month, the Federal Judgeship and Administrative Efficiency Act of 2005 [HR 4093 text], which would create a Ninth Circuit that would cover California, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, and a new 12th Circuit covering Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Arizona. House Republicans are moving to fast-track the bill by adding it to a pending deficit-cutting bill. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, (D-CA) [official website] is in strong opposition to breaking up the circuit and has asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] to assert jurisdiction over the issue and argue against including it in the budget-cutting bill. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on the issue last month [JURIST report] but the full committee has not yet considered a similar circuit-splitting proposal [S. 1301 bill summary] offered by Ensign and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL). AP has more.

11:54 AM ET - Read the DOJ letter [PDF text, via How Appealing] to Sensenbrenner endorsing a split of the Ninth Circuit.

[JURIST] The Iraqi Islamic Party [official website; GlobalSecurity profile], one of Iraq's largest Sunni parties, on Wednesday demanded an international investigation into allegations that security forces illegally detained and tortured suspected insurgents [JURIST report] at secret jails in Baghdad. Omar Heikal said that the majority Shiites were trying to suppress minority Sunnis before the December 15 parliamentary elections and called for the "United Nations, the Arab League and humanitarian bodies to denounce these clear human rights violations, and we demand a fair, international probe so that all those who are involved in such practices will get their just punishment." The demands come a day after Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] confirmed that more than 173 prisoners were found malnourished and possibly tortured by government security forces and announced that the Iraqi government will investigate the alleged abuse. AP has more.

1:17 PM ET - Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture [official website], also called Wednesday for an independent investigation into torture allegations at US and Iraqi detention centers. AP has more.