[JURIST] Wire services are reporting that after intensive negotiations [JURIST report] lasting several days US senators late Wednesday agreed to extend the Patriot Act [JURIST news archive] for six months. The White House and the Senate Republican leadership had previously sought a reauthorization of the Act that would have made many provisions permanent, but that initiative was blocked [JURIST report] last Friday. On Tuesday, Democrats and eight Republican senators proposed a three-month extension [PDF letter] of the anti-terror law while a more acceptable reauthorization agreement than that reflected in the current conference report [JURIST report] was negotiated. The announced six-month extension will hold the act over well into the new year while preventing 16 key provisions of the Act from expiring as scheduled at the end of 2005. The agreed extension still has to be voted on in the Senate and approved by the House. AP has more.

10:45 PM ET - The Senate has now passed the six-month extension. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Courts in Uzbekistan [JURIST news archive] Wednesday convicted an additional 42 people and handed down prison sentences of 12-20 years in connection with the May 2005 Andijan uprising [HRW backgrounder]. It was reported that the defendants were convicted on charges including participation in terrorist acts and deliberate, aggravated murder, though there has not been an official court confirmation. In May, thousands of protesters gathered after rebels stormed a prison [JURIST report] and freed a group of businessmen on trial for alleged Islamic extremism. Rights groups have alleged that over 500 protestors were killed [JURIST report] as the government struggled to end the demonstrations, though Uzbek officials say there only 187 who died. Wednesday's convictions are the latest in a series of trials against those participating in the uprising and last week, the Uzbek Supreme Court announced that 38 policemen and soldiers also face charges [JURIST report] of failing to prevent attacks on government sites. AP has more.

Previously in JURIST's Paper Chase...

• Rebels, officials on trial for Andijan uprising
• 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] AP is reporting that the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit [official website] has denied the Bush administration's request to transfer Jose Padilla [JURIST news archive] from military to civilian law enforcement custody. Padilla, a US citizen, was detained over three years ago for allegedly planning to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the US, but was indicted [JURIST report] in November on 11 other counts, including conspiracy to murder US nationals and providing material support to terrorists. The Justice Department then requested that Padilla be transferred from a Navy brig in South Carolina to DOJ custody. The Fourth Circuit did not immediately rule on the request [JURIST report], instead saying it needed more time to consider the transfer because the indictment [PDF text] contained different allegations than those on which Padilla was originally detained.

4:14 PM ET - The Fourth Circuit also denied a government request that the court withdraw its earlier opinion [JURIST report] in the case. The Fourth Circuit ruled [JURIST report] in September that the government could hold Padilla indefinitely as an "enemy combatant" without charge. That decision is currently on appeal to the US Supreme Court, although the Court has not yet decided whether to grant certiorari. Judge Michael Luttig wrote Wednesday:

Because we believe that the transfer of Padilla and the withdrawal of our opinion at the government's request while the Supreme Court is reviewing this court's decision of September 9 would compound what is, in the absence of explanation, at least an appearance that the government may be attempting to avoid consideration of our decision by the Supreme Court, and also because we believe that this case presents an issue of such especial national importance as to warrant final consideration by that court, even if only by denial of further review, we deny both the motion and suggestion. If the natural progression of this significant litigation to conclusion is to be pretermitted at this late date under these circumstances, we believe that decision should be made not by this court but, rather, by the Supreme Court of the United States.

[JURIST] The International Federation for Human Rights [advocacy website] and the League of Human Rights have filed a lawsuit in French court seeking more information about whether the US Central Intelligence Agency [official website] operated prisoner rendition [JURIST news archive] flights that landed in France. The European rights groups are reacting to reports that CIA flights have landed at two French airports [JURIST report] since 2002. France's foreign minister has said that there were "civilian flight plans" for two flights, but the country's defense minister has said that French airports were "apparently not" used by the CIA [JURIST report]. The two groups say they want to emphasize the responsibility of French authorities and have the incidents investigated and those responsible prosecuted [press release, in French]. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] An attorney for John Walker Lindh [CNN profile], the American caught fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, said Tuesday that Lindh has again asked President Bush to commute his 20-year prison sentence [CNN report]. Lindh was sentenced in 2002 after reaching a plea agreement [PDF text] with federal prosecutors. Under the agreement, Lindh pleaded guilty to supplying services to the Taliban [indictment text] and prosecutors dismissed other terrorism-related charges. In September 2004, Lindh asked Bush to commute his sentence [JURIST report], but then-Attorney General John Ashcroft rejected the request [JURIST report], saying Lindh's sentence was fair. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the US Senate has rejected a proposal to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) [official website] to oil drilling. The proposal [JURIST report] was included as part of the 2006 military spending bill [bill summary].

12:55 PM ET - Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid argued [Leahy Senate floor log] on the Senate floor Wednesday that the version of the defense appropriations bill including provisions allowing ANWR oil drilling and limiting legal liability for vaccine manufacturers [NYT report] violated Senate rules because the provisions were not germane to the spending bill. Reid urged Senators to vote against invoking cloture [Senate backgrounder] and said that if there was a no vote on cloture, the language on these provisions would be removed. The Senate then voted 56-44 against invoking cloture on the Defense Appropriations Conference Report.

[JURIST] Congo's Information Minister Henri Mova-Sakanyi said Tuesday that the country is reassessing the damages it will request from Uganda following an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling [PDF text; JURIST report] that Uganda violated the Congo's sovereignty during a 1998-2003 war [BBC backgrounder] and was responsible for human rights abuses and the plundering of Congolese natural resources. The ICJ ordered Uganda to pay reparations, and Mova-Sakanyi said that the Congo will complete its reparations evaluations by the end of the week. Prior to the court's ruling, the Congo had estimated damages to be $10 billion, but that number is being re-evaluated as part of a standard procedure. If the two countries cannot negotiate the payment, the court will determine the amount of reparations. The Congo brought Uganda before the ICJ [application, PDF] in 1999, saying that Ugandan forces were responsible for killings, torture and other rights abuses and asking for compensation for the removal of property. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] has claimed in trial proceedings Wednesday in Baghdad that he has been beaten "everywhere on my body" while in detention. Hussein's allegations came during an extended outburst during proceedings [JURIST report] Wednesday at the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website] and the chief prosecutor said that if Hussein had been beaten by the US-led Multi-National Force in Iraq [official website], he would be transferred to the custody of Iraqi forces. AP has more.

12:10 PM ET - Hussein said that he and two other co-defendants had "all been beaten and tortured by Americans" as part of a lengthy complaint about the conditions of his detention. Hussein also said that the marks of beatings suffered at the hands of his US captors still remained on his body. Earlier this month, Hussein boycotted the trial [JURIST report], calling the court 'unjust' [JURIST report] and complaining about conditions in which he is being held. A spokesman for the US Embassy in Baghdad has denied Hussein's allegations [CNN report].

3:54 PM ET - White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on Wednesday called Hussein's torture allegations "one of the most preposterous things I've heard from Saddam Hussein recently." Also Wednesday, Christopher Reid, Regime Crimes Liaison at the US Embassy in Iraq, answered questions about the Saddam Hussein trial [transcript] in an online chat. Responding to a question about Hussein's claims, Reid wrote:

I can tell you that the defendants are always watched by many people, and the people assigned to keep them in custody have always been extremely professional whenever I have observed them.

I have heard the defendants complain constantly about the food they get in the courthouse (it is the same food that the judges, prosecutors and defense counsel get -- and it is what I eat, too), and about the type of cigarettes they are supplied. I know that the soldiers who guard them have it rougher than they do. Until today, I never heard Saddam make these allegations.

... I absolutely think that Saddam has made up the allegations and used them to ambush the judge and distract from the testimony. But ANY allegation, no matter how suspect, will be investigated by the Iraqi and Coalition authorities.

The defendants have had many opportunities to report any allegations of beatings or mistreatment to the tribunal or to the coalition, or to their attorneys. I think the timing of the allegations says a lot about their veracity.

[JURIST] A day after the first democratically elected parliament in 30 years in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive] held its inaugural session [BBC report], proceedings in the national assembly nearly broke down Tuesday after a delegate called for all of the country's human rights abusers and "criminal warlords" be brought to justice. Malali Joya's comments came during parliament's first working session and were met with pounding fists and shouts that Joya sit down. Members of the newly-elected parliament [JURIST report] include Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, who has been accused of war crimes [HRW report; JURIST report] and Abdul Salaam Rocketi, a former Taliban commander. Joya made a similar call for warlords to be brought to justice during negotiations on the Afghan constitution [text] at the 2003 loya jirga. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate [official website] is expected to vote Wednesday on whether to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) [official website]. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) [official website] has added the measure to the 2006 military spending bill [bill summary], though Democrats have threatened to filibuster the bill because the ANWR provision is unrelated to military spending and violates Senate rules. Stevens has been working since the 1980s to open ANWR to drilling; supporters of the measure say that opening the refuge is critical to stopping a decline in US crude-oil production, but opponents say that the land and its wildlife must be protected. Wednesday's vote is expected to be tight, and it's unclear whether the ANWR provision will be removed from the spending bill if Democrats are able to successfully filibuster it. Democrats have also indicated that they will seek a parliamentary ruling that the ANWR amendment is not relevant to the bill. The US House approved the spending bill [JURIST report] on Monday. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge James Robertson [official profile], one of 11 members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [constituitive statute], has resigned in protest over the National Security Agency's secret domestic surveillance program [JURIST report], according to a report Wednesday in the Washington Post. Robertson submitted his resignation letter to Chief Justice John Roberts late Monday, and though he didn't provide a reason for his resignation, two sources told the Post that Robertson has expressed concern about the program authorized by President Bush to conduct warrantless wiretaps on international communications by US residents with known links to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations. The FISC was established under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; FAS materials] to oversee government surveillance in intelligence cases, and Robertson is said to have expressed concern that the NSA program is legally questionable and could have tainted the work of the FISC. The New York Times reported Wednesday that despite White House denials, the NSA program has occasionally captured purely domestic communications [NYT report], though the number of such interceptions was small and was caused by a technical glitch in determining whether a communication was international. AP has more.

In another development in the domestic spying saga, the ACLU has said that documents it obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request show that the FBI has used counterterrorism resources to monitor domestic animal and environmental rights organizations without sufficient evidence [press release] that the groups are engaging in or supporting violent action. The ACLU says this FBI monitoring of advocacy groups, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Greenpeace, who have not broken the law "has a chilling effect on the vibrant tradition of political dissent in this country." The FBI insists that it has conducted its investigations in accordance to US law and Justice Department regulations and that the ACLU has mischaracterized passing references in FBI files. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Saddam Hussein trial [JURIST news archive] resumed in Baghdad Wednesday, with the former ruler ending his boycott of court proceedings [JURIST report]. The Iraqi High Criminal Court (formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website]) heard testimony from its ninth witness, Ali Mohammed Hussan al-Haydari, who was 14 during the 1982 massacre in Dujail [JURIST report] and whose family was tortured. Hussein, who made frequent outbursts during earlier trial sessions, only interrupted proceedings twice - once to imply that the witness had not described Hussein with the proper respect and a second time to ask the court to break for prayer, which presiding Judge Rizgar Mohammed Amin denied. Also Wednesday, Amin rejected a prosecution attempt to bar foreign lawyers from participating as part of Hussein's defense team. In November, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark and former Qatari justice minister Najib al-Nuaimi joined the defense team [JURIST report]. Defense lawyers also repeated their security concerns. Two defense lawyers for Hussein's seven co-defendants [Reuters report] have been assassinated [JURIST report] since proceedings began. Meanwhile, Iraqi Justice Minister Abdel Hussein Shandal on Wednesday called the trial judges unqualified [SAPA report], saying that despite their foreign training, they have showed incompetence by refusing to deal with outbursts from Hussein and other defendants. Shandal criticized the court's failure to deal with "suspects who violated court procedures in public, some of whom offended the judges and the panel of public prosecution," but Amin defended his running of the court as "judicially legal". AP has more. BBC News provides additional coverage.