[JURIST] US senators late Tuesday failed to overcome an objection effectively killing a bill designed to avoid costly asbestos litigation by creating a special fund to compensate asbestos victims [JURIST news archive]. The objection, raised by Senator John Ensign (R-NV) [official website] and supported by fiscal conservatives [FreedomWorks press release], invoked a budgetary rule barring legislation that would up US government spending by more $5 billion in any of four decades after 2016. Senator Arlen Specter, a co-sponsor of the bill, insisted that the rule did not apply because the monies supporting the fund would come from private companies and would simply be funneled through the government, but Senator Majority Leader Bill Frist said he would withdraw the bill for the current session if those supporting an exception to the budget rule could not muster 60 votes. The vote for an exception was 58-41 [Senate roll call] with 1 senator abstaining.

The Fairness in Asbestos Injury Resolution Act [PDF text; bill summary] was opposed by insurance companies [Insurancenewsnet report] that argued it would not effectively end litigation, trial lawyers who saw it as a bailout depriving clients of their right to sue for damages [ATLA resources], and by smaller sized companies that said they were being asked to shoulder too much of the fund's financial burden [NYT report]. The Congressional Budget Office [official website; asbestos legislation resources] advised senators Monday night in a letter [PDF] that the fund would not add to the federal deficit, but it had concluded in a previous study [PDF] that it was underfinanced and could be forced to borrow money. Bloomberg has more.

[JURIST] US Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT) [official profile], chairman of the national security subcommittee [official website] of the House Government Reform Committee, said Tuesday that changes in whistleblower laws are needed to provide better protection for whistleblowers in the national security area. The remarks made during a subcommittee hearing [press notice] in which whistleblowers Spc. Samuel Provance [JURIST report], Russ Tice, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer [JURIST report], Richard Levernier and Michael German testified about retaliation they had received for going public on matters ranging from the Abu Ghraib prison scandal to the "Able Danger" Army intelligence program.

Shays was particularly interested in the revocation of security clearances as a means of reprisal, saying that it had the same “chilling effect’ as demotion or firing. Federal whistleblowers are currently covered by the terms of the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 [text]. The federal Office of Special Counsel (OSC) [official website] is the independent federal agency whose job it is to protect federal employee whistleblowers from retaliation. AP has more.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch has accused Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni [BBC profile] of "playing dirty tricks" to intimidate voters in the upcoming elections on Feb. 23. Principal opposition leader Kizza Besigye [JURIST news archive] is facing criminal charges in civil and military courts for treason, rape and terrorism. In a new report [text], HRW claims that military personnel in Northern Uganda are threatening to leave civilians open to attacks by rebel groups if the President Museveni is not reelected.

This election is the first since 2001 for the former British colony. The ruling National Resistance Movement-Organization (NRM-O) [US affiliated website] came to power through an armed struggle led by President Museveni two decades ago. Uganda has since been a de facto one-party state, and this is the first election in which more than one party has fielded candidates. If no candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote a runoff election will be held. The Commonwealth, the EU, the African Union, East African Community are all sending observers to monitor the elections. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's environmental law news, the US Fish and Wildlife Service [official website] has reopened the public comment period [press release] on its original 1999 proposal to remove the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) [FWS species backgrounder] from the federal list of threatened and endangered species [backgrounder]. The bald eagle is often cited as an example of the success of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) [text]. In 1963 there were 417 nesting pairs in the contiguous US, and it was placed on the ESA list in 1967. In 2000, the last time a national bald eagle census was taken, there were an estimated 6471 nesting pairs. Today, it is believed there are over 7066 nesting pairs. If delisted, the species will continue to be monitored for five years, and will still be protected by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), and the Lacey Act [summaries]. AP has more.

In other environmental law news...

• The Virginia State Senate passed a bill [SB 648 text] Monday to ban smoking in all public workplaces with the exception of certain tobacco stores and offices. Virginia is home to the Philip Morris tobacco company [corporate website], the state is the US's third leading tobacco producer, and tobacco is the state's second most profitable crop. Until the late 1990s, smoking was common among legislators inside the Capital building. Despite passage through the Senate, the bill is not expected to pass the House of Delegates. The Washington Post has more.
  
  
• The US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) [official website] is considering whether to postpone for five years a proposed rule [backgrounder] that would limit the diesel fume and particulate matter levels in underground metal and non-metal (non-coal) mines, including those for limestone, gypsum, platinum, gold, silver and salt. The rule, first proposed in 2001 [PDF text, press release], gave mine operators five years before dropping the diesel limit from 308 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 160 micrograms per cubic meter. Last September, the MSHA proposed [PDF text] putting off the January 20, 2006, effective date for four months while getting comments on whether to postpone the rule for another five years. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] The Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy [official backgrounder] on Tuesday ordered the state's 44 Wal-Marts and 4 Sam's Club stores to carry emergency contraception pills at their pharmacies. Previously Wal-Mart [corporate website] only carried the "morning after" pill in Illinois, a requirement of state law.

Wal-Mart was sued earlier this month [JURIST report] by three women alleging the retail giant was in violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act [text] which requires all pharmacies in the state to provide all "commonly prescribed" medications. Last year the Massachusetts state legislature passed a law [text; JURIST report] requiring hospitals, but not specifically all pharmacies, to carry emergency contraception. Wal-Mart has said it will comply with the order. AP has more.

[JURIST] South Dakota governor Mike Rounds [official website] has signed into law [press release] a bill limiting protests during funerals. SB 156 [PDF text] was passed in response to recent picketing at the funerals of US soldiers who died in Iraq, and will ban protests within 1,000 feet of a funeral from one hour before until four hours after the ceremony. The state House and Senate rewrote the bill this past weekend to ensure it complied with First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. While most state bills take effect on July 1, the text of this bill puts it into immediate effect. Two South Dakota soldiers killed in Iraq will be buried later this week [press release]. AP has more.

A similar bill [RTF] in Oklahoma that would ban protests within 500 feet of a funeral, offered by Senator Mary Easely [official profile], was approved by the state Senate Monday on a 46-0 vote and will now be considered by the House. Like the South Dakota bill, the Oklahoma bill responds to protests by members of the renegade Westboro Baptist Church [WARNING: readers may find material at this church website offensive; Wikipedia backgrounder] in Topeka, Kansas, who are going around the country claiming US soldiers have been killed because America tolerates homosexuals. Sponsors of the Oklahoma legislation say they anticipate a legal challenge. KTEN.com has local coverage. In all, 14 states [AP report; First Amendment Center backgrounder] are writing bills to limit funeral protests.

[JURIST] Former Nepal prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba [Wikipedia profile] was released from prison Tuesday in the wake of Monday's ruling by the Nepal Supreme Court [official website] declaring the Royal Commission for Corruption Control (RCCC) set up by Nepal's King Gyanendra unconstitutional [JURIST report]. The former Prime Minister was arrested last July, found guilty of corruption [JURIST report] and given a two year sentence following Gyanendra's February 2005 takeover of the government.

Deuba, who upon arrest said he was framed and refused to testify, called his release "a democratic step" and hailed the court ruling as a "victory for democracy and a humiliating defeat for the royal regime." The King's government said it would not contest Monday's ruling, but has not issued an official statement regarding Deuba's release. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] A UK parliamentary report [PDF] released Tuesday concludes that British control orders [BBC backgrounder] confining and/or regulating the conduct of suspected terrorists who cannot be prosecuted in courts may violate the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) [text]. Eighteen control orders have so far been issued by UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke since the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2005 [PDF text] authorized the practice. The orders can involve house detentions, curfews and restrictions on computer use.

The new report by the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights [official website] questions whether control orders should be allowed without requesting a special opt-out from the terms of the ECHR, suggesting that strict so-called "derogating" control orders such as those involving a 24-hour house arrest are in breach and should only be given during national emergencies. The Prevention of Terrorism Act is set to expire March 11 but the government has already said it will seek its renewal. DeHavilland has more.

[JURIST] US Vice President Dick Cheney [official biography] has received a citation for breaking a Texas hunting law by not having the proper stamp giving him permission to shoot quail. The warning was issued by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department [official website] after hearing news that the Vice President shot fellow hunter and Republican lawyer Harry Whittington over the weekend. Cheney has forwarded the appropriate $7 to cover the cost of the upland game bird stamp.

Whittington suffered a minor heart attack [AP report] Tuesday after a portion of the bird shot moved into his heart and lodged there. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC) [advocacy website] has filed a complaint against the Canadian Western Standard [media website] magazine over its republication of Danish cartoons [JURIST news archive] depicting the Prophet Muhammad. Other Canadian media have refused to publish the cartoons, but Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant said Tuesday the magazine was publishing the cartoons [CTV News report] because they were newsworthy for provoking demonstrations around the world. Levant also argued that the magazine was protected by freedom of speech.

The ISCC and other Muslim groups in Canada have also called for police to investigate the magazine for hate crimes. Canadian law prohibits willfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group under Section 319 [text] of the Criminal Code. The cartoons, originally published in Denmark in September and republished by several papers in Europe in January, have triggered protests and violence around the world. Most recently, two protestors were killed [BBC report] Tuesday by Pakistani security forces during a demonstration in Islamabad. Also on Tuesday, the Turkish secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, told visiting European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solona that the EU should pass laws banning blasphemy [Turkish Daily News report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Yemen [government website] officials have denied an American request to interrogate detainees taken into custody after the escape of 23 prisoners [JURIST report], including suspected al Qaeda members, from a Yemen prison earlier this month. A Yemen security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities rejected the US request because it would have violated Yemen's sovereignty.

US officials have expressed concern over the security threat [press briefing transcript] posed by the escapees and are interested in questioning the 105 people detained, who include family members of the 23 escapees, members of Islamic groups, and seven security officers. Interpol has issued a global security alert [JURIST report] for the escaped men. AP has more.

[JURIST] Haitian presidential candidate Rene Preval [Wikipedia profile], currently leading [JURIST report] in the official count from the February 7 election [JURIST report; BBC backgrounder] with 48.76 percent of the votes [CEP PDF], said Tuesday that the poll was plagued by "gross errors and probably gigantic fraud." Preval, a former president and close ally of former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], also said he would contest the results and encouraged protestors to continue their demonstrations but urged them to be peaceful, after at least one protestor was killed [JURIST report] Monday when members of the UN Stabilization Force in Haiti [official website] fired into a crowd. Approximately 90 percent of the votes have been counted so far with about 125,000 ballots (out of 2.2 million) declared invalid, leading Preval supporters to accuse the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) [official website] of throwing out winning votes for Preval.

Meanwhile Tuesday, a group of rival candidates conceded that Preval had won the election [Reuters report], but the Haitian government called on voters to remain patient as the last 10 percent of the votes were counted. If Preval takes more than 50 percent of the vote he can avoid facing the second place finisher in a runoff. The UN Security Council [official website] has issued a statement [text; UN News report] appealing for calm [VOA report] in Haiti while votes are counted. The Council also said that it expected that the remainder of the electoral process "will continue to be transparent and meet international standards." AP has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled Tuesday that Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive] will no longer be allowed to be present in the courtroom for jury selection in his sentencing trial [case docket] after Moussaoui walked out of a pretrial hearing. Moussaoui pleaded guilty [JURIST report] last April to conspiring with al Qaeda to use aircraft to target United States buildings and a jury will now decide whether Moussaoui should receive the death penalty or life in prison. At a pretrial hearing to determine whether Moussaoui could remain present during jury selection after being ejected from the courtroom [JURIST report] four times for previous outbursts, Moussaoui defied the judge and delivered a speech and then left the courtroom. Upon his leaving, Brinkema ruled that Moussaoui forfeited his right to be present, and must now watch the jury selection from a closed circuit television in a courthouse cell.

Jury selection [JURIST report] for the trial began on February 6, and individual questioning of the jurors is expected to take place on Wednesday, with opening statements scheduled to begin on March 6. The trial is expected to last one to three months. AP has more.

[JURIST] Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen [BBC profile] has called for abolition of the country's criminal defamation law that was used to jail four government critics in January. Hun Sen said the offense should be made a civil one punishable by fine, continuing a softening of his initial support for the prosecutions [JURIST report]. Hun Sen called for the charges to be dropped [JURIST report], but a court refused [JURIST report] to do so, moving ahead with the proceedings.

Rights groups and diplomats have urged Cambodia [JURIST news archive] to make defamation a civil offense instead of the criminal law left over from UN involvement in the country in the early 1990s. Hun Sen has been accused of using the law to quell criticism of his administration. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Kenyan police have placed a travel ban on more than 20 officials as investigations continue into government corruption. Police told some 20 officials allegedly linked to the Goldenberg affair [BBC report], a multi-million gold and diamond scam, not to leave the country. Among those under the ban is former Education Minister George Saitoti, who resigned Monday [JURIST report] along with Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi [official profile] in the face of the scandal. Both were implicated in a second scandal known as the Anglo Leasing affair [Wikipedia backgrounder].

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki [official profile; BBC profile] has been accused of failing to act on the scandals, despite a campaign pledge to fight corruption in Kenya [JURIST news archive]. More than 80 MPs have called for Kibaki to fire his deputy Moody Awori for involvement in the Anglo Leasing affair, and the MPs have threatened protests if he does not. The charges have been led by exiled anti-corruption advisor John Githongo [BBC profile], who has been critical of Kibaki for failing to tackle the scandals. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers for former HealthSouth [corporate website] CEO Richard Scrushy [JURIST news archive] and former state highway director Mack Roberts filed motions Tuesday asking a federal judge to drop charges against them in connection with a racketeering scheme [JURIST report] involving former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman [official profile]. Scrushy faces charges stemming from an incident where he allegedly arranged a $500,000 donation [JURIST report] to Siegelman's lottery campaign in exchange for a seat on the state health board. Lawyers for Scrushy say that the two bribery charges Scrushy faces are "multiplicitous" because he is being tried for multiple offenses for the same transaction, and are asking the judge to either throw out both charges or allow prosecutors to pursue only one bribery charge.

Former State Highway Director Mack Roberts faces mail fraud charges for allegations that he took steps to advance Siegelman's racketeering scheme. Lawyers for Roberts cited several reasons that the charges are not a prosecutable offense, and said that the prosecution did not specify whether Roberts knew about the scheme at the time it took place. Roberts is asking that all charges be dismissed. The prosecution will have until later this month to respond to the motions of dismissal. The Birmingham News has more.

[JURIST] Omri Sharon, son of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon [BBC profile], was sentenced Tuesday to a nine month prison term for illegal campaign fundraising. Sharon was indicted [JURIST report] in August for setting up false companies as a disguise for more than $1.3 million he received in contributions from several Israeli and overseas corporations for his father's re-election campaign. He pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in November to falsifying documents and perjury and resigned from his post as a member of parliament in January. Omri's father, Ariel Sharon, has continuously denied any involvement in the illegal fundraising.

Ariel Sharon has been in a coma since January 4 after suffering a severe stroke and undergoing surgery. The Tel Aviv court has agreed to delay the start of Omri's term in prison for six months on account of his father's ailing condition. After serving his nine month sentence, Omri Sharon must also serve nine months of probation and has been fined $300,000 shekels, or about $64,000. BBC News has more. The Jerusalem Post has local coverage.

[JURIST] The Egyptian opposition Muslim Brotherhood [FAS backgrounder] has promised to fight legislation backed by President Hosni Mubarak [official profile; BBC profile] that would delay local elections in Egypt [JURIST news archive] for an another two years and preserve the ruling party's dominance. The legislation, which only requires an expected approval by the lower house of parliament, would delay local council elections originally required within 60 days after terms expired Tuesday. It is widely thought that Mubarak has pushed for a delay in the elections to prevent further gains by the Muslim Brotherhood, which had a strong showing in parliamentary elections [JURIST news archive] last year. Those elections were marred by violence and fraud that some said prevented the Muslim Brotherhood from gaining additional seats, but Mubarak promised continued reform [JURIST report] after the elections.

The Muslim Brotherhood is officially banned in Egypt [CS Monitor report], so Brotherhood candidates run as independents, although their membership is well known. The Muslim Brotherhood boycotted the previous local elections in 2002, leaving the ruling National Democratic Party [official website, in English] in control of most localities. AP has more.

3:04 PM ET - AP is now reporting that the Egyptian parliament has passed the bill to postpone local elections for two years.

[JURIST] Sudan police have arrested five Sudanese human rights activists in the Darfur [JURIST news archive] region and beat and arrested several Sudanese students who were rioting on the Juba University campus in Northern Khartoum, according to Amnesty International [advocacy website]. The five activists, members of the Sudan Social Development Organization (SUDO) [advocacy website], were arrested during a human rights workshop in the Darfur region of Ed-Daien, but have not been charged. Amnesty also said that credible sources have told the organization that 51 male students arrested during the college campus riot are still in detention and being tortured.

Amnesty is urging officials to bring those arrested to a prompt, fair trial [press release] and to ensure basic rights of the detainees, including the right to legal counsel, access to family and to a doctor. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour released a report [DOC text; JURIST report] last month heavily criticizing the operations of security forces in Sudan [JURIST news archive], saying the operated in a culture of impunity. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Two Iraqis claiming they were beaten by British soldiers following a demonstration that turned violent in 2004 said Tuesday that they would sue the UK military over the incident. According to Bassem Shaker, one of the two, he was among a group of several hundred protesting a lack of work in Amarah in January 2004, and he was arrested along with several others and beaten by British soldiers before being released. It was not known whether Shaker is one of several Iraqis shown being beaten by soldiers in a video [NW video] that was taken by a soldier and released by the UK News of the World tabloid on Sunday. The UK Ministry of Defence [official website] has opened an investigation [JURIST report] into the video.

Shaker and a second Iraqi, Tariq Abdul-Razzak, have both requested the help of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in pursuing legal action against the UK military over the incident. Some reports have suggested that the soldiers may have been acting under orders [Sky News report] in beating some demonstrators. The British military has said that shots were heard from within the crowd of demonstrators, and that Iraqi police and British troops had returned fire. British Islamic leaders have called for a speedy prosecution [JURIST report] of UK troops shown in the video, and the Ministry of Defence has already arrested one soldier [press release] in connection with the video. AP has more.

6:02 PM ET - Ministry of Defence officials confirmed Tuesday that an additional two soldiers have been arrested in connection with the video. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's international brief, South Korea has nominated its Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon [official profile] as a candidate for the office of the UN Secretary-General [official website]. The office, currently held by Kofi Annan [official profile] is up for election in the second half of 2006 and its holder is determined by a majority vote of the General Assembly [official website] based on a recommendation from the Security Council [official website], which means that any of the permanent members may use their veto on any proposed candidate. Other possible candidates from Asia include Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Jayantha Dhanapla from Sri Lanka, a former UN under secretary-general for disarmament. According to the continental rotation scheme, the next SG is due to come from Asia, but France has declared that it will only support candidates who speak French - the former language of international diplomacy. US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton has also challenged the regional rotation plan [NYT report], saying that the secretary-general should be selected based on merit alone. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of the United Nations [JURIST news archive]. Read the South Korean government's press release. South Korea's Chosun Ilbo has local coverage.

In other international legal news ...

• Over 150 protesters were arrested in the Zimbabwean capital city of Harare as a group of 500 women and students met to express their displeasure with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe [BBC profile] and the current situation in the south African nation. The rally was broken up just 15 minutes into the event when Harare police arrived with whips and guns to chase away protesters, arresting 159 individuals who are currently being detained but have yet to be charged. Protest organizers said they were attempting to convey to Mugabe that his continual blaming of the West for the economic collapse of Zimbabwe since he took control of the once-model economy did little to put food onto starving families' tables or fix the nation's over-600 percent inflation. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive]. ZimOnline has more.
  
  
• The Ugandan government has joined two petitioners before the nation's Constitutional Court [official website] in seeking to have opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye [BBC profile] declared an invalid candidate in next week's upcoming presidential elections. The Ugandan attorney general joined the two petitioners, members of the national military, in arguing that the Ugandan Electoral Commission (UEC) [official website] acted improperly in approving Besigye's nomination [UEC press release] while he was still being held in jail on "serious criminal charges." Originally aimed at having Besigye's name removed from the ballot, the petition now aims to have Besigye's candidacy declared void ab initio. If the constitutional court grants the petition and Besigye wins the upcoming elections, he would be an invalid successor to the office unless the Ugandan Supreme Court overturned the lower court decision. The constitutional court is not expected to issue a ruling until early next week. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Uganda [JURIST news archive]. The Ugandan Monitor Online has local coverage.
  
  
• Eleven experts from the United Nations [official website] arrived in Tanzania Monday to conduct an investigation [press release] into the country's compliance with Security Council Resolution 1373 [PDF text] and to determine what help the nation needs to better that compliance. Resolution 1373 created the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee [official website] and set out requirements for all UN members to follow regarding the fight against international terrorism. Central to these requirements was the signing and ratification of the 12 major anti-terrorism international covenants and the implementation of those covenants into domestic law. The UN News Centre has more.

[JURIST] The Constitutional Court of Thailand [official website] on Tuesday agreed to consider a petition to impeach Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [official profile] on suspicion that he illegally held shares in the Shin Corporation [corporate website], a telecommunications giant that he founded. The court secretary-general said that a decision will be made Thursday on whether to accept the case. The petition alleges that although Thaksin no longer owns shares in the company, he remains a de facto owner and has introduced policies which benefit the corporation. If the court finds that he was still a shareholder when his relatives sold 49.6 percent of the shares to a Singapore investment company, Thaksin would have to step down for violating the constitution [PDF text].

This is the latest setback for Thaksin, whose plans for a constitutional referendum [JURIST report] were defeated earlier [Thai News Agency report] Tuesday. Since easily winning re-election last year, Thaksin's popularity has waned, especially among the middle class, after the sale of the shares. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] on Tuesday told the Iraqi High Criminal Court - formerly the Iraqi Special Tribunal [official website] - that he was on hunger strike [JURIST report] in protest at the way chief judge Ra'uf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman [BBC profile] has been treating Hussein and his co-defendants. Abdel-Rahman began presiding over the trial [JURIST news archive] last month after his predecessor resigned [JURIST report] amid criticism that he had been too lenient during proceedings. Abdel has attempted to take a tougher stance in the courtroom, saying that he will not tolerate outbursts and disobedience by the defendants, even removing defendants [JURIST report] who complained about their treatment. Hussein and his lawyers have boycotted the trial [JURIST report] in protest of Abdel-Rahman. Hussein appeared in court Monday, but said that his appearance was forced [JURIST report]; his lawyers continue to boycott proceedings.

Hussein and his co-defendants face charges of murder, torture, forced expulsions and illegal imprisonment stemming from the 1982 massacre in Dujail [JURIST report]. The court heard testimony from three witnesses Tuesday, including a former intelligence officer and former personal aide to Hussein. A third witness refused to cooperate with the court, saying he was present against his will. Hussein told the court that the other defendants were also on hunger strike. Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Hussein's half-brother and co-defendant, appeared for the second day in a row in his long underwear, signaling his rejection of the court. Proceedings have now been adjourned until February 28. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Just one month after New Orleans courts began preparations to resume trials [JURIST report], two New Orleans judges said that criminal courts may have to release as many as 4,000 indigent defendants, many of whom stand accused of felonies, due to lack of funding and resources to hire public defenders. Judges Calvin Johnson and Arthur Hunter of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court [official website] were the first to suspend prosecutions [AP report] in their courts, but they expect the other 10 judges to follow suit. On Friday, Hunter subpoenaed Louisiana Senate President Donald Hines [official website], Louisiana House Speaker Joe Salter [official website], and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin [official website] to testify at a February 23 hearing on the inadequacy of public defender funding.

Louisiana is unique, as it relies almost exclusively on local traffic tickets and parking fines to generate the revenue for the defender's office. As a result of the Hurricane Katrina disaster [JURIST news archive], the annual budget has been dropped from $2.5 million to $500,000. Public defenders represent close to 80 percent of criminal defendants in New Orleans. USA Today has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Ricardo Urbina [official profile] on Monday issued a preliminary injunction [PDF text; opinion, PDF] preventing the US military from turning over US citizen and suspected terrorist Shawqi Omar [JURIST report] to Iraqi officials. Omar, who the US describes as a close associate of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi [BBC profile], was arrested in Baghdad in October 2004 after he was caught harboring an Iraqi insurgent and a group of foreign fighters who were in Iraq illegally with the intention of fighting US forces. Urbina is currently deciding whether Omar's case should be heard by a US judge or whether Omar can be turned over to Iraqi officials for prosecution.

According to US officials, Iraqi courts are considering pressing charges against Omar, which would make him the first US citizen to be tried under the new Iraqi legal system. The Department of Justice has argued that Omar is not in US custody, but is instead in the custody of the Multi-National Force [official website] and beyond the federal court's jurisdiction. The Brennan Center for Justice, representing Omar's wife and son in the case, has a press release on Urbina's decision. AP has more.

[JURIST Europe] The controversial Identity Cards Bill [official PDF text] narrowly passed its critical second reading in the British House of Commons Monday evening despite efforts by opposition parties and rebellious backbenchers from British Prime Minister Tony Blair's [official profile] own Labour Party to stop it. In two years, anyone applying for travel or immigration documents in the United Kingdom will be required to register for a national identification card [JURIST archive]. The cards will include biometric information that will also be kept in a central government database with the goal of combating terrorism and illegal immigration. Blair introduced the ID cards plan [JURIST report] last May; it was narrowly approved in the Commons [JURIST report] for the first time in June, but was blocked by the House of Lords [JURIST report] in January.

Blair missed Monday's vote himself as he was detained in South Africa after a mechanical problem on his return flight to the UK from a state visit to Johannesburg. An unfriendly amendment to make the cards voluntary was only just defeated by 31 votes. The linkage between travel and immigration documents and the cards falls short of making them compulsory for everyone [JURIST report], but it does ensure in practice that millions of Britons will hold them, and that the percentage of holders will increase over time. UK Home Secretary Charles Clarke has nonetheless said that the government will introduce further legislation to make them officially compulsory by 2011. Silicon.com has more.

UK Chancellor Gordon Brown [official profile], who is likely to succeed Blair and who was previously not known as a supporter of ID cards, used his security policy address [JURIST report] on security issues on Monday to advocate for the measure. Liberty UK [official website] and other British civil rights groups [No2ID campaign website] have denounced ID cards [press release] as both ineffective and a violation of civil liberties. Lord Carlile, the Liberal Democrat peer appointed by the British government as an independent reviewer of its anti-terror laws, said in January that the ID cards would be of "limited value" against terrorism [JURIST report] and would not have prevented the London bombings in July. National ID cards were last required in the UK during World War II to facilitate the identification of aliens, but they were judicially ruled unlawful in 1951. The new legislation approved by the Commons now goes back up to the House of Lords. The Guardian has local coverage.

Tatyana Margolin is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.

[JURIST Europe] As part of its probe into allegations [JURIST report] that the CIA ran secret prisons [JURIST news archive] in EU member countries, a committee of the European Parliament [official website] Monday outlined an investigation plan and reviewed a list of people it might want to question. Possible witnesses include senior members of the US administration, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld [official profile], Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice [official profile], former Secretary of State Colin Powell [Wikipedia profile], and CIA head Porter Goss [official profile], although senior committee member Claudio Fava [official profile] acknowledged "...we need to check first and foremost who in the US administration would be ready to cooperate."

Human Rights Watch [HRW backgrounder] and Amnesty International [AI report] have both accused the US government of running secret detention centers in Europe and of transporting suspects to these prisons on rendition flights [JURIST news archive]. The US government has defended its actions as legal [JURIST report]. The Council of Europe, the European human rights monitoring body, has been conducting a separate investigation [JURIST report] of the rendition allegations; the chairman of its probe, Swiss senator Dick Marty, will meet with the European Parliament's committee February 23. Reuters has more.

Tatyana Margolin is an Associate Editor for JURIST Europe, reporting European legal news from a European perspective. She is based in the UK.