[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] on Wednesday released a list of 26 "ghost detainees" [text], terror suspects that HRW alleges the US has not reported but is holding incommunicado and is possibly torturing. Many of the people on the list are suspected of involvement in past terror attacks, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed [BBC profile], the alleged Sept. 11 attacks mastermind, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a suspected al Qaeda member and roommate of a Sept. 11 hijacker. HRW argued that the US has not reported any of the detainees to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] or allowed the ICRC to visit them, and none of the 26 have been charged. HRW said that its list of secret detainees was likely incomplete. According to HRW, US officials have suggested to reporters anonymously that some of the detainees have been tortured, while reports have also surfaced [JURIST report] of secret CIA detention facilities in Europe. The US State Department said Wednesday that it would respond soon to an EU letter expressing concern [JURIST report] about reports of the facilities. HRW has a news release on the detainees. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Australian Prime Minister John Howard [official profile] on Wednesday bowed to pressure from back-benchers and agreed to several amendments [interview transcript] to proposed anti-terror legislation [text; JURIST report] that will soften several of its provisions. After a day of meetings with members of the Liberal Party, Attorney General Philip Ruddock [official profile] reportedly agreed to most of the changes recommended by a Senate report [text; JURIST report] on the legislation that was put forth earlier this week. Notable among the amendments is a heightened evidentiary requirement to detain those suspected of terrorist activities, as well as an intentional, rather than reckless standard, for laws prohibiting incitement to violence against Australian troops to apply. Ruddock refused, however, to reduce the sunset clause to five years from ten and to completely remove sedition offenses [AAP report] entirely from the bill. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser [official profile] earlier Wednesday villified the government [JURIST report] for reversing "centuries of advances" in human rights and individual liberties with the legislation. The Sydney Morning Herald has more.

ALSO ON JURIST   Op-ed: Rights at Risk: My Dissent from the Australian Anti-terror Bill [Jon Stanhope, ACT Chief Minister]

[JURIST] The UN Security Council [official website] on Wednesday delayed a US attempt to bring Myanmar before the council [JURIST report] over what the US described as a deteriorating political and human rights situation. US Ambassador John Bolton [official profile] sought to bring the issue before the council, but members said discussion was put off based on a request by China, with several other nations, including Russia, Japan and Algeria, questioning the US. Russian Ambassador Andrei Denisov, current president of the Council, said the situation in Myanmar did not threaten international peace or security, although he acknowledged some concern over events there. Bolton planned to attempt to place the issue on the Council's formal agenda again on Friday, after British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, a supporter on the issue, assumes the Council presidency. A US attempt to raise the issue in June also backfired when Russia, China and Algeria blocked it. The US has argued that Myanmar's government is targeting ethnic minorities and repressing political opponents [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi [official profile] on Wednesday said that the country's constitution should be amended to allow the country to increase its military for national security purposes. Koizumi said that the country could not defend itself without an armed military force trained for war. Japan [JURIST news archive] currently only maintains a 240,000-strong Self-Defense Force [Global Security backgrounder] because Article 9 of its constitution [text], drafted in the wake of World War II by US occupation forces, bars the country from using its military internationally or for warfare. The idea of expanding Japan's military has left some of its Pacific neighbors wary of revived Japanese militarism. Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party [official website] last week introduced a proposed amendment [JURIST report] that would allow the country's military to participate in armed international peacekeeping missions. Japan currently has 600 troops deployed in Iraq in strictly non-combat reconstruction efforts. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Appeals of Turkey on Wednesday overturned the life sentence [JURIST report] of Metin Kaplan [BBC profile], an Islamist cleric convicted on charges [JURIST report] of plotting to fly an aircraft into the mausoleum of Turkey’s secular founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, on a national day of celebration in 1998. The court ordered a retrial because of deficiencies in procedure and investigation., but the chief prosecutor has the right to appeal the ruling. Dubbed the "Caliph of Cologne," Kaplan headed the Caliphate State, a group outlawed by anti-terror laws [BBC report] in Germany, where he served a four-year prison sentence for killing a rival cleric. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US Lieutenant-General Martin Dempsey said Wednesday that he thought Iraqi commanders were responsible for recent cases of detainee torture [JURIST report] by Iraqi security forces. Dempsey, who oversees the US program to train security forces in Iraq [JURIST news archive], said he believed the recent cases of abuse were caused by a lack of leadership, rather than by individual soldiers or police or shortcomings of the US training regimen. Dempsey said the US program educated Iraqi security forces on human rights and the rule of law. US troops found 170 detainees imprisoned in an interior ministry building in Baghdad earlier this month, and several detainees showed signs of being tortured and being in need of food and water. The Iraqi government has promised a probe [JURIST report] into the torture, but has not delivered any results [Aljazeera report] in two weeks as promised. AFP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Iraq president rejects rights comparison to Saddam regime
• Former Iraq PM Allawi says rights abuses as bad as under Saddam
• Iraq minister rejects claims of torture, death squads
• Iraqis march in Baghdad torture protest
• UN rights commissioner calls for international inquiry into Iraqi prisons
• Iraqi government admits security forces tortured, abused detainees

[JURIST] Former Hollinger International Inc. [corporate website] executives Jack Boultbee and Peter Atkinson failed to appear on Wednesday at the federal court in Chicago to be arraigned on fraud charges. Both Boultbee, who is charged with eight counts of fraud, and Atkinson, who faces six counts, are Canadian citizens. Assistant US Attorney Robert Kent said that prosecutors could initiate extradition proceedings [Bloomberg report] in several days if Boultbee fails to appear. Atkinson made arrangements to appear for arraignment on Thursday with former Hollinger CEO Conrad Black [CBC News profile; JURIST news archive], who also faces fraud charges [JURIST report]. All three have been charged in connection with allegedly defrauding investors for $84 million in corporate funds using illegal non-compete payments. Black also faces charges of misusing corporate funds on personal expenses and the corporate jet on personal trips. Kent said that a purported lawyer of Boultbee left a message for a prosecutor saying that Boultbee would not be able to be at the preliminary hearing Wednesday because he was attending to personal affairs. Black and the other former executives face civil claims relating to their conduct. Reuters has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Top Canadian law firm to pay Hollinger $30 million settlement
• Black delays arraignment on criminal fraud charges until Nov. 30
• Black, Hollinger execs charged with criminal fraud
• Ex-Hollinger CEO sues US government over money seizure
• Ex-Hollinger CEO to appeal Ontario ruling on Ravelston fraud charges

[JURIST] US District Judge Inge P. Johnson of the Northern District of Alabama [official website] on Wednesday dismissed fraud charges against former HealthSouth Corp. [corporate website] CEO, Richard Scrushy [defense website] because the charges were not specific. Johnson will allow prosecutors fifteen days to amend and refile the fraud counts, which have already been filed three times by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website]. Johnson did not dismiss five other charges against Scrushy, including aiding and abetting in false financial reporting, false record keeping, and failing to maintain proper internal controls at HealthSouth. Scrushy, who was also indicted on charges for bribing [JURIST report] former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman [official profile] was acquitted [JURIST report] in June on criminal charges for directing a scheme to overstate the earnings of the Birmingham-based medical services chain by $2.7 billion. The SEC, which is seeking $785 million in civil penalties [complaint] against Scrushy, will begin settlement talks with the fired CEO’s lawyers on January 18. AP has more.

[JURIST] Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal [official website] has promised to continue a state challenge to funding under the federal No Child Left Behind Act [PDF text; US Dept. Ed. factsheet] despite the dismissal [JURIST report; Stateline.org report] of separate challenge to the law in Michigan. Connecticut is challenging the Act [PDF complaint] as an unfunded mandate on states, which is similar to a failed challenge made by the National Education Association [advocacy website], but Blumenthal said in comments published Wednesday that Connecticut's case differed factually from the earlier case. An answer by the US Department of Education [official website] to the complaint is expected by the end of the week. Blumenthal's office has a news release on its lawsuit. UPI has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge James R. Spencer [JTBF profile] of the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] Wednesday rejected the disputed settlement pact between the maker of the Blackberry [product website] communications device, Research in Motion Ltd. (RIM) [corporate website], and the patent owner of the technology behind the device, NTP, Inc. The $450 million settlement, which the companies agreed to in March, but never finalized, would have ended NTP’s infringement suit against RIM, which wanted to enforce the agreement. Spencer will next determine whether to issue an injunction that completely halts Blackberry sales and service in the US. Industry experts believe the ruling will force RIM to settle the suit for as much as $1 billion. Nasdaq stopped trading Blackberry's shares shortly before the ruling was made public. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien [CBC profile] on Wednesday filed a legal challenge to a report [JURIST document] issued by Justice John Gomery in a federal investigation into a sponsorship program [CBC News backgrounder] that found Chretien responsible for abuses. In a motion filed in federal court on the final day of the appeals period, Chretien charged Gomery with bias in the investigation and with ignoring evidence supporting the former prime minister. The challenge was expected after Chretien announced that he would challenge the report released Nov. 1 by the Gomery Commission [official website]. A second report by the Commission is expected to be released in February 2006. The Commission was set up by current Prime Minister Paul Martin [official website] to investigate a federal program that sponsored an ad campaign against the Quebec sovereignty movement, but that ultimately resulted in unmonitored distributions of millions in funds. CBC News has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Gomery report blames former Canada PM for sponsorship scandal
• Canadian ad exec avoids jail time in sponsorship scandal
• Canadian PM apologizes for corruption scandal, promises election after report
• Canadian judge lifts publication ban on sponsorship scandal testimony
• Former Canadian PM testifies before sponsorship inquiry

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] on Wednesday delayed the transfer of Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive] from a Navy brig in South Carolina to Justice Department custody until the court receives more information from the government and Padilla's lawyers. The 4th Circuit said that it needs more information before it orders the transfer because the indictment [PDF text] contained different allegations than those on which Padilla was originally detained. Padilla, a US citizen who was detained over three years ago for allegedly planning to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the US, was indicted [JURIST report] November 22 on 11 counts including conspiracy to murder US nationals and providing material support to terrorists. In September, the 4th Circuit denied Padilla's latest habeas appeal, ruling [PDF opinion; JURIST report] that the terror suspect could be detained without charges indefinitely. That decision has been appealed to the US Supreme Court [cert. petition, PDF; JURIST report], though the Court had not yet decided whether to hear the case. AP has more.

[JURIST] While serving as an assistant to the solicitor general during the Reagan administration, US Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito [official profile; JURIST news archive] advocated a gradual challenge to the fringes of Roe v. Wade, rather than an all-out assault on the landmark abortion ruling, according to documents [National Archives list] released Wednesday. In a memo [PDF text], Alito called for a policy of "mitigating" the effects of the decision by urging the Supreme Court to allow increased state regulation of abortions, in particular the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act, part of which was struck down by the Third Circuit. Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer [official website] called the memo "shocking," and questioned whether Alito would be objective in deciding such cases if confirmed to the Court, a criticism rejected by a White House spokesman. Alito has expressed "great respect" for the precedent of Roe, according to senators who met with him, although he stopped short of promising to uphold a constitutional right to abortion. Also Wednesday, Alito submitted a 64-page response [JURIST document] to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire, in which he said judges must guard against judicial activism. His confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin January 9. AP has more.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Why Feminists and Liberals Have Nothing to Fear from Alito | Op-ed: Better Luck This Time: Why Alito Is Hard to Beat

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Wednesday heard oral arguments [recorded audio, via C-SPAN] in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England [Duke Law backgrounder; merit briefs] concerning whether the state of New Hampshire can require parental notification before a physician can perform an abortion on a minor. The two exceptions to the notification requirement of the New Hampshire Parental Notification Prior to Abortion Act [text] are cases where the procedure is necessary to prevent the death of the minor and where a judicial declaration has been made that the minor is mature enough to make the decision for herself. If found to be in violation of the law, a physician could face civil liability to the parents and criminal charges. During oral arguments Chief Justice John Roberts [JURIST news archive] appeared sympathetic to the state while Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg [Oyez profiles] seemed concerned that the law's lack of an exception to protect the health of the minor may place physicians at risk in cases where severely sick minors did not want to notify their parents and were unable to obtain a judicial bypass. AP has more.

The Court also heard arguments for the third time Wednesday in Schiedler v. NOW [Duke Law backgrounder; merit briefs], regarding the applicability of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) [text] and the Hobbs Act [text] to anti-abortion protesters. While Justice John Paul Stevens [Oyez profile] seemed open to the possibility that the Court, in its 2003 rejection of the applicability of the laws and reversal of the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, had "overlooked" jury findings to the contrary, Justices Antonin Scalia and David Souter [Oyez profiles] questioned why the appeals court had not ended the case with the Supreme Court's previous decision [PDF text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website; JURIST news archive] sentenced Haradin Bala to 13 years in prison Wednesday for torture, cruel treatment and murder at a prison camp run by the Kosovo Liberation Army [BBC backgrounder] (KLA). Bala, a commander and guard at the Lapusnik prison camp, is the first Kosovo Albanian to be found guilty for war crimes committed during the KLA's open rebellion against Serbian forces in 1998. According to the ICTY judgment [PDF text; summary], Bala mistreated three prisoners, aided in the torture of another prisoner, participated in the murder of nine prisoners, and helped in the "maintenance and enforcement of the inhumane conditions" at the prison camp. The Tribunal dismissed seven of the ten counts against Bala, and all counts against his co-defendants Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu, both indicted with Bala in 2003 [BBC report]. The three men, the first Kosovo Albanians indicted for actions during the rebellion, went on trial [JURIST report; ICTY case backgrounder] in late 2004. The war crimes tribunal has since indicted three more men, including former regional commander of the KLA and former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj [BBC profile], who currently await trial. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser [official profile] has accused the Australian government of pursuing laws that would reverse "centuries of advances" in human rights and the protection of individual liberties against state power. Fraser, who has previously spoken out against tough new anti-terror proposals [JURIST report] now going through the Australian parliament, delivered his broadside attack in a speech [DOC text] in Melbourne Tuesday and took up its theme again in an interview Wednesday, saying that he has considered resigning from the Liberal Party [party website], of which current Prime Minister John Howard [official profile] is also a member. Fraser urged Liberal senators to cross the floor and vote against the anti-terrorism bill [text], currently before the Senate after passing in the lower house [JURIST report] Monday. He told ABC Radio:

I...want to emphasise in the strongest terms that we're not just seeing another policy which is not a good policy. We're seeing a reversal of, if you like, centuries of advances in terms of human rights, the protection of the liberty of the individual against the overweening power of the stat. Now we're seeing that reversed and we're seeing that reversed in a country that prides itself on its democracy. We're seeing it reversed in secret.

People can be made to disappear. This happens to be in Australia.

[JURIST] UK rights group Liberty [advocacy website] has threatened to take legal action [press release] against the British government and senior police officers unless they agree to investigate allegations that the US Central Intelligence Agency [official website] has operated "torture flights" that have landed in the UK. In recent months, reports have surfaced that CIA flights carrying terror detainees have landed in airfields across Europe [JURIST report] en route to facilities where the detainees are likely to be tortured. According to a September Guardian report, CIA planes have flown into the UK over 200 times since September 11, 2001. Liberty has written letters to UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and multiple chief constables [Liberty letters, PDF] asserting that "people transported through the United Kingdom as part of the practice of extraordinary rendition are subjected to torture within the United Kingdom" and, if the existence of the flights is proved, the UK would therefore be in breach of the UK Criminal Justice Act [text], the European Convention on Human Rights [text], the Convention against Torture [text] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [text]. The Telegraph has more.

[JURIST] Bangladesh police on Wednesday detained 22 suspects in the latest round of suicide bombings outside courthouses around the country. Nine people died and over 65 were wounded when two bombs detonated [BBC report] Tuesday, in what police and lawyers call a campaign by Islamic militants to press the judiciary into introducing Islamic Sharia law [CFR backgrounder]. Two judges were killed [JURIST report] in a bombing attack two weeks ago, prompting at least one judicial resignation. In a letter obtained by JURIST, Assistant Judge Chowdhury Hafizur Rahman, stepping down from the Judges Court in Barisal, also cited the government's own interference with the independence of the judiciary, saying there had been "systematic manipulation" and that

some of our executives let the judiciary down and undermined its dignity, integrity and [are] still continuing to delay unnecessarily...We are straining beyond its limits a healthy system we built with such toil and treasure, a web of simple law, liberty and life...that sets limits on our foes far more effectively than it ever constrained Bangladesh's ability to defend its interests....

• Bangladesh lawyers boycott courts to protest judge killings
• Two Bangladeshi judges killed in bomb attack
• Bangladesh courthouse bombers demand Islamic law
• Bangladeshi police question almost 50 in bombing probe

[JURIST] Indonesian human rights groups have denounced the suggestion of East Timor President Xanana Gusmao [BBC profile] that a report from the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation [official website], which is investigating East Timor's past human rights violations, should be kept under wraps. Gusmao said Monday that the commission's recommendations could be used to "manipulate our people's state of mind." The commission was formed specifically to investigate the 1999 violence in East Timor [PBS backgrounder], which left 1,400 dead. East Timor [JURIST news archive; HRW backgrounder] gained full independence from Indonesia in May 2002 after more than two years of UN stewardship. Rights activists have accused Gusmao's decision as a political one being made solely to maintain good ties with Indonesia. AFP has more.

[JURIST] US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton [official profile] has requested that the UN Security Council [official website] put Myanmar [CIA backgrounder] on the council's agenda for the first time, alleging that Myanmar's military rulers are destroying villages, targeting ethnic minorities, seeking nuclear power capabilities and failing to initiate democratic reforms and repressing political opponents such as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi [advocacy website; BBC profile]. Russia and China blocked the last US attempt to get the Security Council to discuss Myanmar in June. Bolton's letter to the Security Council president was sent just two days after the military government extended the house arrest [JURIST report] of Suu Kyi, who has spent 10 of the last 16 years detained after the military took power in 1988, refusing to accept Suu Kyi's landslide election victory in 1990. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said [UN News report] he is "deeply disappointed" that Suu Kyi's detention had been extended, made possible by Myanmar's anti-subversion law [text]. Earlier this year, a UN investigator found that more than 1,100 prisoners continue to be held [JURIST report] by Myanmar's military government. AP has more.

[JURIST] Acting head of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change [official website] Richard Kinley said Tuesday that parties to the Kyoto Protocol [text; JURIST news archive; BBC Q/A] mandating that industrialized nations cut greenhouse emissions in order to curb global warming will likely need up to 3-5 years to work out a successor to the pact, due to expire in 2012. Kinley's comments came at the UN Climate Change Conference [official website], currently underway [JURIST report] in Canada. The meeting to review the Kyoto Protocol [Deutsche Welle report] is the first climate change conference since the pact came into force [JURIST report] in February despite US refusal to back [JURIST report] the protocol. Many environmentalists want Kyoto's replacement in place by 2008 to help curb rising temperatures worldwide and businesses also are hoping for clear-cut rules to help guide investments. Earlier this month, representatives from Arctic nations met in Norway [JURIST report] to discuss global warming and the protocol. Kinley said that the conference will likely reaffirm Kyoto rules [press release] including penalties for non-compliance and reforms to the Clean Development Mechanism [official website; CDM watchdog website]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Former Qatari Justice Minister Najib al-Nuaimi said Wednesday that a request has been made for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] to run as a candidate in future Iraqi elections and that Hussein's defense team has been asked to examine the necessary legal steps to "present Saddam Hussein as a candidate for elections," first as a member of the National Assembly and then as president. Although he didn't specify whether or not Hussein could run in the upcoming December 15 parliamentary elections [IECI website], al-Nuaimi added that "[i]f this contradicts the legal system then president Saddam will be nominated simply as a candidate." Al-Nuaimi is one of three new foreign lawyers who recently joined Hussein's legal defense team [JURIST report], together with former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark and Jordanian lawyer Issam Ghazzawi, who were sworn in Monday. The defense team considers the ousted leader Iraq's "legitimate president." Hussein and his seven co-defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and torture carried out against Shiites following an assassination attempt against Hussein in 1982. Hussein's trial [JURIST news archive] opened on October 19 before a 40-day adjournment [JURIST report], and briefly resumed Monday but was later adjourned until December 5 [JURIST report] to permit two of Hussein's co-defendants to replace their legal counsel after their lawyers were killed [JURIST report]. The trial at the Iraqi High Criminal Court (formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website]) will most likely be postponed further [Jang report] as a result of the close proximity to the mid-December elections and fears of further disruption to the polling. Hussein could face the death penalty if convicted. AP has more.