[JURIST] Chemical giant DuPont [corporate website] has agreed to pay over $10 million in fines and another $6 million for environmental projects in order to settle allegations [press release] that the company hid information about the dangers of a chemical used in the manufacturing of Teflon, the US Environmental Protection Agency [official website] said Wednesday. The EPA had sued [PDF complaint; press release] DuPont under the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for withholding information about potential risks posed by perfluorooctanoic acid [EPA materials]. Under the settlement [EPA materials], which the EPA says represents the largest civil administrative fine ever collected under federal environmental laws, DuPont makes no admission of liability [press release]. DuPont still faces a federal criminal investigation of its actions in the matter. AP has more.

[JURIST] EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini [official website] said Wednesday that so far there is no evidence that confirms allegations [JURIST report] that the CIA operated secret prisons in Eastern Europe. Frattini's comments come the day after the Council of Europe [official website], Europe's human rights watchdog, said that it has gathered information that reinforces the credibility [JURIST report] of the secret prison reports. Frattini said that the European Union would support the Council of Europe's investigation by providing flight information and other intelligence. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Iraqi border police seized a tanker Tuesday evening that had just crossed the border with Iran which contained several thousand forged ballots. According to an Iraqi official, the truck driver told police that at least three other trucks had successfully crossed the border into Iraq, but the official did not say what the driver meant to do with the partially completed ballots. The seizure comes as the country prepares for nationwide parliamentary elections [JURIST news archive] Thursday though early voting is already underway for some groups. Over 11,000 detainees held by US forces around the country voted earlier this week in what US officials are calling an overwhelming turnout [press release; Stars and Stripes report]. The Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq [official website] set up and monitored temporary polling stations in detention facilities which hold 100 or more eligible voters. Voting has also begun for soldiers, hospital patients and Iraqis abroad. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the US House has voted 251-174 to renew provisions of the USA Patriot Act [JURIST news archive] that were set to expire at the end of this year. The reauthorization bill [summary, conference report, PDF] now goes before the Senate, where the legislation could face a filibuster. The reauthorization compromise [JURIST report] would modify but make permanent most of 16 Patriot Act provisions set to expire, but some senators want to include additional safeguards in the bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has talked with White House officials about extending the current legislation for one year if the reauthorization legislation is indeed filibustered. AP has more.

3:16 PM ET - US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales released a statement [text] Wednesday afternoon commending the House vote to renew sections of the Patriot Act and urging the Senate to do the same. An op-ed [text] from Gonzales also appeared in Wednesday's Washington Post, in which Gonzales presses for the Patriot Act's reauthorization, saying that the legislation is necessary to provide law enforcement with the necessary tools to fight terrorists.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• House to vote on Patriot Act renewal
• Deal reached on Patriot Act reauthorization
• Deal close on Patriot Act renewal, Specter says
• Specter blocks deal to extend Patriot Act, calls for revisions
• Patriot Act legislation stalls as six senators threaten to block reauthorization
• Congress reaches compromise on Patriot Act renewal that curbs FBI power
• Patriot Act renewal deal would institute judicial review of powers

[JURIST] An additional 114 people went on trial Wednesday in Uzbekistan on charges stemming from the May 2005 Andijan uprising [HRW backgrounder], which led to government troops killing as many as 500 protestors [JURIST report]. The Uzbek Supreme Court has released a statement that 78 civilian defendants are charged with "taking part in terrorist acts" in the eastern city, and 38 policemen and soldiers face charges of failing to prevent attacks on government sites. The charges are the latest in a string of trials against those participating in the uprising, though this is the first time security officials have been charged. Dozens of people have already been convicted on terrorism charges and have received lengthy prison sentences, ranging from 12-20 years. The Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive] government has come under fire for its handling of the May protests and the subsequent prosecutions. The US State Department and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have condemned a previous trial of dissidents as unfair and "based on evidence that isn't credible," calling for an independent investigation [JURIST report] into the trial. The latest proceedings will be closed trials. AFP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Uzbek high court announces jail sentences of 33 more for Andijan unrest
• More Uzbeks sentenced for Andijan uprising
• Uzbekistan tries second group of Andijan rebels
• Uzbek high court defends Andijan trial verdict against international criticism
• UN, US call Uzbek revolt trial unfair, Europe imposes arms embargo
• Uzbek court issues guilty verdict, sentences Andijan rebels on terror charges

[JURIST] Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay [defense website] said Tuesday that the company's former CEO Andrew Fastow [BBC profile] was to blame for the accounting fraud that led to the company's downfall and that his trust in Fastow was "fatally displaced". Lay's speech [text] at a Houston business luncheon foreshadowed his defense at his upcoming trial on criminal fraud charges [PDF indictment], set to begin January 17. Lay attacked the prosecutors in the case, saying they are obscuring the truth behind a "wave of terror" and that witnesses are too scared to come forward on Lay's behalf. Lay said that Enron's 2001 bankruptcy was due to the "despicable and criminal deeds" of Fastow and a small group of Fastow's cohorts. Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in 2004 and is still awaiting sentencing; his wife Lea Fastow was released from prison [JURIST report] earlier this year after serving a one year sentence for filing a false federal tax return related to money she and her husband received from Enron financial dealings. BBC News has more. The Houston Chronicle has local coverage.

[JURIST] The debate over capital punishment [JURIST news archive] in California has gained new momentum following the execution [JURIST report] earlier this week of Crips gang co-founder and convicted murderer Stanley Tookie Williams [advocacy website]. Both sides are wondering what impact Williams' execution will have on currently-scheduled executions and the future of the death penalty in California. California could execute at least five death row inmates next year, including Clarence Ray Allen, 75, the oldest condemned prisoner in the state, who is scheduled to be executed on January 17. Meanwhile, Europeans are expressing outrage and disappointment in the Williams execution, particularly with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision [PDF text; JURIST report] not to grant clemency. Members of the Green Party in Schwarzenegger's native Austria have called for Schwarzenegger's citizenship to be stripped [AP has more]. Wednesday's New York Times has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Crips co-founder executed in California
• Schwarzenegger denies clemency for Crips co-founder
• California Supreme Court denies gang founder execution stay
• NAACP head urges clemency for gang founder Williams
• California high court refuses clemency request by gang founder

[JURIST] A Tokyo High Court judge on Wednesday refused to overturn a lower court decision that denied compensation for unpaid wages for a group of South Koreans who were forced to work at a Japanese steel mill during WWII. Relatives of the forced laborers had asked that the Japanese government be ordered to pay 20 million yen ($166,600) in compensation but a court ruled in 2004 that the property claims were nullified under the 1965 Japan-South Korea normalization treaty. The government successfully argued that any wartime compensation claims by South Korea were covered by the 1965 treaty, under which Japan was required to provide $500 million in economic aid to South Korea. The result is in line with most Japanese rulings on the subject, but comes at a time when Japanese relations with South Korea and neighboring China are strained. Since taking office in 2001, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi [official profile] has made regular visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine [JURIST report], which honors the country's war dead, including war criminals. South Korea and China consider the shrine a monument to Japanese militarism during the early 20th century. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The UN Security Council [official website] is considering a proposed resolution, offered by France at the request of Lebanon, that would widen the scope of the UN probe [UN materials] into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri [JURIST news archive] to include other politically motivated killings that have occurred in Lebanon during the past year. The resolution, which would also extend the mandate of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission for another six months, was circulated to the Security Council late Tuesday, a day after the commission's chief investigator, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, submitted a report [JURIST report; UN News report] that cited additional evidence of Syrian involvement in the Hariri murder. Mehlis' interim report [text] implicated both Syrian and Lebanese security officials. During Tuesday's meeting [UN meeting summary], Lebanon asked that an international tribunal be established to try suspects charged in the Hariri assassination. Also Tuesday, Syria's UN Ambassador Feyssal Mekdad said that Syria is fully cooperating with the UN probe, despite criticism to the contrary. AP has more. The UN News Centre provides additional coverage.

[JURIST] The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday convicted [judgment, PDF] retired Rwandan army officer Lt. Col. Aloys Simba of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 25 years in prison [ICTR press release]. The charges against Simba stemmed from the 100-day massacre [BBC backgrounder] of over half a million in 1994. The Tribunal found that Simba supplied guns and grenades and commanded the military, police and civilian militias that carried out most of the killings in two southern Rwanda regions. Simba was also found not guilty of lesser charges of complicity to commit genocide and murder as a crime against humanity and will receive credit for the four years he spent in detention after his 2001 arrest. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Army has given preliminary approval to a new set of classified interrogation techniques which are likely to cause a roadblock in negotiations over Sen. John McCain's proposed amendment on detainee treatment [JURIST document]. The interrogation techniques are to be added to the new Army field manual as a 10-page addendum and this is the first time that such specific guidelines regarding the legality of interrogation techniques have been given. The revisions to the manual, which have not yet been given final approval, are the first in 13 years. Although the new techniques are classified, the Army has said that the manual requires interrogators to comply with the Geneva Conventions [ICRC materials; reference guide]. Some military officials, however, have expressed concern that the Army is pushing the limits on legal interrogation and that McCain may view the changes as a back-door method to thwart the effect of the amendment, which bans cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees but also prohibits treatment of detainees not in accordance with the field manual. The amendment, added to the 2006 military spending bill, passed the Senate with a 90-9 majority [JURIST report] and later was unanimously reaffirmed by the Senate [JURIST report]. It is not yet clear whether the amendment will be included in the final version of the spending bill though there have been predictions [JURIST report] that a final deal on the amendment is close. Wednesday's New York Times has more.

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

[JURIST] US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile] on Tuesday accused the international community of failing to live up to its obligations to help bring Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] to justice, saying the "effective boycott of Saddam's trial is only harming the Iraqi people". Although Rice did not name specific countries in her speech [transcript; recorded video; recorded audio] at the Heritage Foundation, she expressed sadness that many European states had declined to cooperate due to their opposition to the death penalty. Rice argued that all states who have "expressed their devotion to human rights and the rule of law have a special obligation to help the Iraqis bring to justice one of the world’s most murderous tyrants." Hussein's trial [JURIST news archive], plagued by interruptions, outbursts and violent killings [JURIST reports], has been adjourned until December 21 [JURIST report] allowing a break for Thursday's Iraqi elections [JURIST news archive]. Hussein and his co-defendants are charged with murder, torture, forced expulsions and illegal imprisonment stemming from the 1982 massacre in Dujail [JURIST report] and could face the death penalty if found guilty by the Iraqi High Criminal Court (formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website]). Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US House of Representatives is expected to pass a White House-backed bill [summary; conference report, PDF] Wednesday that would reauthorize sections of the USA Patriot Act [PDF text; JURIST news archive], although the legislation may still face a filibuster in the Senate. Certain provisions of the Patriot Act, the country's primary anti-terrorism law, are due to expire on December 31 and Republicans including House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) [official website] say that national security is at risk if Congress does not approve the bill quickly. In his weekly radio address Saturday, President Bush urged [JURIST report] Congress to vote quickly and limit debate on the bill. Under the reauthorization, two of the most controversial provisions would be extended for a further four years, notably the use of roving wiretaps and FBI access to library, hospital and business records. The legislation would also permit courts to review issuances of National Security Letters [PDF sample text; ACLU backgrounder], which compel third parties to produce these documents during terrorism investigations. The ACLU has called for Senators to reject the reauthorization agreement [press release] and has raised objections [Washington Post report] to a provision in the proposal which they say could give the Secret Service expanded powers to arrest and charge protesters accused of disrupting major events. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Deal reached on Patriot Act reauthorization
• Deal close on Patriot Act renewal, Specter says
• Specter blocks deal to extend Patriot Act, calls for revisions
• Patriot Act legislation stalls as six senators threaten to block reauthorization
• Congress reaches compromise on Patriot Act renewal that curbs FBI power
• Patriot Act renewal deal would institute judicial review of powers

[JURIST] US Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad [official profile] said Tuesday that more than 100 detainees [JURIST news archive] had been abused in two Iraqi detention facilities, a figure considerably greater than the 21 or 26 people previously reported as abused. An investigation [JURIST report] had been carried out following the discovery by US soldiers of 173 malnourished, beaten and possibly tortured detainees [JURIST report] in November. Khalilzad also said that from now on the US will have officers with Iraqi forces to observe raids and the process of taking detainees into custody. Khalilzad also commented on Sunday's report by the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry [JURIST report], which said that 13 prisoners in an overcrowded facility run were abuse victims who required medical treatment. Khalilzad said the number requiring treatment is at least 20. Iraqi officials have called the abuse allegations exaggerated [JURIST report] and the Iraqi Interior Ministry has said that none of the prisoners discovered last week had been tortured or abused. Khalilzad's comments come right before Thursday's Iraqi governmental elections [JURIST news archive], though early voting has started for soldiers, hospital patients, prisoner detainees and Iraqis abroad. Wednesday's New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Leading Wednesday's international brief, the International Commission of Jurists [advocacy website] has issued a report [PDF text] urging the Nepal government [official website] to revoke the recently approved media ordinance [JURIST report] as contrary to the Nepalese Constitution [text] and Nepal's international human rights obligations. The report questions the intent of the legislation, alleging that its true purpose is to suppress critical journalism rather than lawfully regulate the media industry. The ICJ praised two recent decisions by the Nepal Supreme Court [official website] requiring the Nepalese government to wait before implementing the full provisions of the ordinance, but urged the Court to take proactive steps and declare the legislation unconstitutional. Read the ICJ press release [PDF text]. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Nepal [JURIST news archive]. Nepalnews.com has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• White farmers in Zimbabwe [government website] have won a court battle against land reform actions initiated by President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile] that will allow them to keep farming equipment they own even if their land has been seized under new constitutional powers [JURIST report] granted to the government. According to a press release by the Commercial Farmers Union [advocacy website], courts in the capital city of Harare ordered the Masvingo Farm Equipment and Materials Committee (MFEMC) to return seized farm equipment to white farm owners whose land had been seized. The MFEMC was set up by Mugabe to seize all equipment and materials on the land of seized farms as property of the state. The court ruled that the land reform authorized by the constitution did not include the seizure of private property belonging to the owners of seized land. It is unclear if the MFEMC will comply with court ruling, as Mugabe has threatened previously to ignore court decisions with which he does not agree. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. Zim Online has local coverage.
  
  
• UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official profile] has called on the wealthier nations of the world to be willing to change trade and agriculture laws to reflect "the changing economies of the 21st century" and to give true meaning to the current talks taking place at the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference [official website] in Hong Kong. In a statement delivered Tuesday, Annan said that the practice of subsidizing large portions of agricultural business interests in developed nations was directly related to the continued difficulty experienced by developing nations in trying to receive fair market value for their own agricultural products. Various NGO and advocacy groups like UK-based Christian Aid [advocacy website] have recommended that developing nations walk out of the WTO talks [press release] rather than accept a deal more likely to cause overall harm to their economies if they give in to demands by developed nations for opening their markets to competition by already developed service providers. Read the transcript of Annan's remarks. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the World Trade Organization [JURIST news archive]. The UN News Centre has more.
  
  
• An audit conducted by international consulting firm Ernst and Young [corporate website] cleared employees of the UN World Intellectual Property Organization [official website] of criminal corruption allegations made by various news media outlets. The report concluded that while there were areas of practice in the organization that needed reform and updating with modern accountability practices, there was no evidence to "conclude that certain employees of WIPO and third parties concerned might have committed any fraud or dishonest acts." Read the WIPO press release. The UN News Centre has more.