[JURIST] Former California Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham [Wikipedia backgrounder] has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison for corruption. Cunningham pleaded guilty [JURIST report; plea agreement, PDF] last November to charges [criminal information, PDF] of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and tax evasion and promptly resigned from office. He admitted to taking $2.4 million in bribes in a case that stemmed from an investigation into the sale of his home and became a wide-ranging probe uncovering payments in cash, yacht-club fees and antiques. His sentence is the longest prison term ever given to a congressman.

Mitchell Wade, a defense contractor involved in the scheme pleaded guilty [agreement, PDF; JURIST report] last week to conspiring to funnel more than $1 million in bribes [criminal information; PDF] to Cunningham. The San Diego Union-Tribune has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Defense late Friday released the names of Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act [text; summary] request filed by the Associated Press and later pressed in a lawsuit [AP report]. The names appear in transcripts of Combatant Status Review Tribunal [DOD materials] proceedings in which military panels reviewed whether detainees were properly classed as "enemy combantant". It is not clear whether absolutely all detainees - including possible secret "ghost detainees" held by the US - are referenced in the over 5000 pages of documentation. Transcripts previously released to AP had the names of detainees blacked out, although some detainees' names and nationalities became officially known [JURIST report] in April from filings in federal court [AP documents list] challenging their detentions. AP has more.

Last week, a federal judge ordered [JURIST report] DOD to release the names by March 3. The Washington Post has independently compiled an unofficial list of the names of approximately 450 detainees.

6:54 PM ET - A Department of Defense press release quotes a "senior official speaking on background":

"We removed the information from the transcripts that identified the detainees," the official said. "Detainee personal information was removed ... because of concern of potential harm to detainees if the documents were made public."

In some cases, detainees made incriminating statements about other detainees or about others in their home countries. In others, detainees made statements that could be taken by enemy forces as "disloyal acts" against them, and in other transcripts detainees indicated that they had cooperated with U.S. forces, acts that could be held against them in their countries.

These situations and others "could result in retaliation against the detainee from other detainees at Guantanamo or against their families in their home countries," the official said.

[JURIST] CNN is reporting that Research in Motion [corporate website], maker of the BlackBerry [product website] wireless device, has reached a $612.5 million settlement in its patent dispute with NTP Inc. In 2003, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled [PDF text] that RIM violated a patent held by NTP, Inc. and that decision was upheld [PDF opinion; JURIST report] on appeal. The US Supreme Court said in January that it would not consider the case [JURIST report].

According to RIM, NTP has granted it the right to continue operating the BlackBerry service and NTP will not pursue its claim for damages against RIM. Last March, the two companies reached a $450 million settlement, but the agreement was never finalized and Spencer eventually ruled the settlement invalid [JURIST report]. CNN has more.

5:52 PM ET - According to the RIM statement:

Research In Motion Limited (RIM) (NASDAQ:RIMM; TSX: RIM) and NTP, Inc. (NTP) today announced that they have signed a definitive licensing and settlement agreement. All terms of the agreement have been finalized and the litigation against RIM has been dismissed by a court order this afternoon. The agreement eliminates the need for any further court proceedings or decisions relating to damages or injunctive relief.

RIM has paid NTP $612.5 million in full and final settlement of all claims against RIM, as well as for a perpetual, fully-paid up license going forward. This amount includes money already escrowed by RIM to date.

The licensing and settlement agreement relates to all patents owned and controlled by NTP and covers all of RIM's products, services and technologies. NTP grants RIM an unfettered right to continue its business, including its BlackBerry® related business. The resolution permits RIM and its partners to sell RIM products and services completely free and clear of any claim by NTP, including any claims that NTP may have against wireless carriers, channel partners, suppliers or customers in relation to RIM products or services, (including BlackBerry Connect and Built-In technology), or in relation to third party products and services, to the extent they are used in connection with RIM products and services.

ALSO ON JURIST  Op-ed: Bye-Bye BlackBerry? Patent Problems with Patent Litigation

[JURIST] After nearly five days of round-the-clock negotiations in New York City, bankrupt Northwest Airlines (NWA) [official website; press release] has reached a tentative agreement with its pilots union, NWA officials announced Friday. The pilots' union, the Northwest Airlines Air Line Pilots Association (NAALPA) [official website; press release], is the second union to settle with the reorganizing airline this week, following the flight attendants who also reached an tentative agreement [JURIST report] on Wednesday.

Although details of the pilot's agreement have not yet been released, NWA had insisted in its bankruptcy filings that the pilots take a permanent pay cut of an additional 28.4% - which would save the company $361.8 million annually - on top of the 15% pay reduction the pilots already agreed to in late 2004. After announcing the settlement, a NAALPA spokesman stated that the union accepted cuts beyond those agreed to in 2004 so that the airline could "emerge from bankruptcy as a proud and profitable airline."

The settlement, if ratified by a majority of NAAPLA members, eliminates the possibility of a bankruptcy judge ruling to allow NWA to reject the collective bargaining agreement, pursuant to Section 1113 of the US Bankruptcy Code [text], which would effectively leave the pilots jobless and without a remedy. The settlement also forecloses on the pilots' previous threat of a work strike, which NWA argued would have been unlawful during bankruptcy under the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C. 151) [text]. The Minneapolis Star Tribune has local coverage.

[JURIST] A coalition of 12 states, three cities and several environmental groups appealed to the US Supreme Court [official website] Friday in a bid to force the federal government and Environmental Protection Agency [official website] to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) "greenhouse gas" emissions from personal automobiles, citing the link to global warming. Read a National Environmental Trust press release announcing the lawsuit. The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] denied a request to review the case in August, in a 4-3 decision, and earlier ruled [opinion, PDF] 2-1 that the US government does not have to regulate CO2 emissions from cars and trucks.

The EPA claimed in 2003 that Congress did not grant the EPA authority to regulate emissions from personal automobiles under the Clean Air Act [text], and therefore the EPA was powerless in the situation. The DC Circuit Court did not reach the question of whether the EPA has the authority to regulate emissions from cars and trucks. Friday’s appeal to the Supreme Court claims, however, that the EPA was wrong in coming to its conclusion. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US-based Eller & Co. [corporate website] said Friday that Britain's Court of Appeal [official backgrounder] has agreed to hear on Monday its petition for appeal against a High Court ruling approving the takeover of British shipping company P&O [corporate website] by United Arab Emirates-owned Dubai Ports World (DPW) [corporate website], which would grant DPW control of six major US ports. The Court of Appeal will immediately hear Eller's case if its petition for appeal is granted. Judge Nicholas Warren approved Dubai Ports World's acquisition of P&O [JURIST report] Thursday, but his ruling will not become effective unless the Court of Appeal refuses to hear Eller's appeal. Warren placed a hold on his ruling to permit Eller to appeal to the higher court directly. AP has more.

[JURIST] An Ethiopian court has rejected an application by three of 129 Ethiopian election protesters to have a separate trial and adjourned the trial of all 129 people until March 22. The charges, which include conspiracy, treason and genocide for some defendants, relate to mass demonstrations [JURIST report] in the wake of Ethiopia's May 2005 elections where government officials made arrests after street protests in July and November [JURIST report]. The opposition Coalition of Unity and Democracy [party website] claims that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi rigged the vote and intimidated witnesses. Judge Adil Ahmed ruled that the court would try the three defendants, two employees of the British nongovernmental organization ActionAid [advocacy website] and a teacher, with the other 126 defendants because a separate trial would delay the proceedings and be too burdensome on witnesses.

The trial began last Friday [JURIST report] after Ahmed ordered the case to proceed in January despite the defendants' challenge to the court's jurisdiction [JURIST report]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Ohio Supreme Court [official website] issued a 4-3 opinion [PDF text] Friday permitting the parents of an unhealthy child born as a result of negligent genetic counseling or negligent failure to diagnose a fetal defect or disease to sue for medical malpractice [JURIST news archive]. The court held that parents can recover damages for the costs related to the pregnancy and birth of the child, but cannot recover consequential damages for the "care and rearing of the child" or pain and suffering.

Friday's opinion marks the Ohio court's first ever definitive ruling on a claim of "wrongful birth," though a few other states also allow such claims. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] said Thursday that the administration is not conducting any additional warrantless domestic surveillance [JURIST news archive] beyond what President Bush acknowledged in December. Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) [official website] disclosed the information in an interview with the Washington Post, saying that Gonzales responded to a fax she sent him regarding Gonzales’ February 28 letter [PDF] to Senate Judiciary Committee members in which Gonzales appeared to suggest that there might be additional wiretap operations when he offered clarifications to his February 6 testimony [JURIST report] before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Sen. Patrick Leahy [official website], ranking Judiciary Committee Democrat, had expressed similar concern about possible undisclosed surveillance programs in a letter [JURIST report] to Gonzales Wednesday.

Harman and Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) [official website], chairman of the House Intelligence Committee [official website], plan to press the White House for a full committee briefing on the NSA program. In addition, Harman and Hoekstra plan to hold hearings [JURIST report] on the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text] in order to modernize it to account for technological advances. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] A Croatian district court in Split has convicted eight former soldiers on charges of torturing and killing Serb prisoners and Yugoslav army officers at the Lora military prison [Amnesty International backgrounder] during the Serbo-Croat war in 1991. Of the eight, four were convicted in absentia, with sentences ranging from six to eight years in prison. The former soldiers were originally acquitted by a county court in Split in 2002, but allegations of fraud and witness intimidation later surfaced.

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia [official website] overturned the convictions and ordered a retrial [JURIST report] in 2004, and this trial was officially reopened [JURIST report] last September. Croatia has initiated several war crimes trials since 2001 in its push to join the European Union [JURIST news archive]. The Humanitarian Law Center [advocacy website] in Belgrade welcomed Thursday's convictions but noted:

Regardless of the significant improvement made in this retrial, we should as well underline that two very important problems were registered. The first problem was the intimidation of the Croat witnesses and their unwillingness to testify. Accordingly, two witnesses, both former members of the military police, claimed they were subjected to threats. Marko Ivcevic did not appear before the court, and another witness, Mario Barisic, who testified during the investigation and pre-trial procedure on the situation he found in the Military Investigation Centre Lora, did not challenge his previous allegations, but said he did not remember certain things. He also said that he required special protection measures from the Republic of Croatia State Prosecutor, but his request was not approved.

The second problem was the fact that certain defence counsellors behaved inappropriately almost during the whole retrial, they expressed their political views, and insulted the witnesses from Serbia and BiH. It is of concern that the Trial Chamber did not always react timely in these situations.

[JURIST] Eric Schwartz [official profile], the UN's deputy special envoy for tsunami recovery on the protection of vulnerable communities in the tsunami region, concluded his 10-day assessment of the region [press release] by urging the countries affected by the 2004 disaster [JURIST news archive] to do more to protect human rights. Schwartz commended the efforts made by the countries to provide the basic rights spelled out in the UN's Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement [text], including shelter, health services and education, to the victims but added that governments and non-governmental organizations and UN agencies are also responsible for "involving the affected populations in the critical decisions impacting their future well-being."

Human rights organizations reported last month that recovery efforts in the path of the tsunami were inadequate and discriminatory [JURIST report], but both Indonesia and India, implicated in the report, quickly rejected the criticism [JURIST report]. EuropaWorld has more. The UN News Centre has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Lawyers for Army Sgt. Michael Smith, currently facing court-martial for allegedly torturing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] with unmuzzled dogs [JURIST report], have withdrawn a request for testimony from prison commander Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller [Wikipedia profile]. Miller's testimony was expected to help Smith's case, based upon findings in the 2004 Fay Jones report [PDF text; Frontline summary] and other investigations, that the use of dogs to abuse detainees began upon the arrivals of the animals on November 20, 2003 and that Miller "recommended dogs as beneficial for detainee custody and control issues." Miller had previously invoked his constitutional right to remain silent [AFP report] but Smith's attorneys have offered no explanation of their somewhat unusual decision not to press for his testimony.

Originally scheduled to begin March 8, the trial date was pushed back [JURIST report] to May 22 to allow more time for defense preparation. If convicted, Smith faces up to 29 1/2 years in prison. AP has more.

[JURIST] Chinese police have detained protesters [HRIC press release] in preparation for the annual ceremonial start of session of the National People's Congress [government backgrounder] in Beijing and forced them to return to their homes, human rights groups said Friday. Protesters traveled from across the country to air grievances ranging from insufficient health care and redevelopment seizure to strict birth control laws and missing unemployment benefits. Many were detained and sent back to their homes by police forces that the government deployed to suppress the protests. The New York-based watchdog Human Rights in China (HRIC) [advocacy website] also accused the government of trying to hide a hunger strike organized to protest reprisal against political activists.

Each year, thousands of people participate in the centuries-old tradition of traveling to Beijing during the legislative session to report complaints to the government. Some protesters, including AIDS patients and victims of property seizure, were warned before the parliamentary session that they would be detained and sent home. The NPC's 2006 annual session [official website] will open Sunday. AP has more.

[JURIST] Mohammed al-Qahtani, the so-called "20th hijacker" from the Sept. 11 attacks, has disclaimed information he provided about 30 Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainees, alleging that the statements were coerced by torture, TIME magazine reported Friday. Qahtani was refused entry into the US in August 2001 and was later captured in Afghanistan; he has since been held at Guantanamo Bay, where Pentagon officials say he admitted to being sent to the US to participate in the attacks. During questioning by US intelligence, Qahtani implicated 30 fellow detainees [interrogation log, PDF] as having connections to al Qaeda. The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights [advocacy website] is now representing Qahtani, and lawyer Gitanjali S. Gutierrez told TIME that Qahtani made false statements "to please his interrogators" after enduring months of torture and abuse.

By repudiating the information, Qahtani calls into question evidence considered by Combatant Status Review Tribunals [DOD materials] that appeared to justify the 30 detainees' incarceration. Several challenges to the detention of "enemy combatants" at Guantanamo and elsewhere are pending, and there have been other allegations of information extracted through torture and coercion at the facility. The US Supreme Court [official website] has ruled that detainees held by the US anywhere in the world should be allowed to challenge their detention in federal courts. Congress, however, passed the Detainee Treatment Act [JURIST document] in December 2005, which limits Guantanamo detainees' access to federal courts. The constitutionality of the new law has not yet been ruled on by the courts. Adam Zagorin of TIME Magazine has more.

[JURIST] Prosecutor Douglas Gansler [official profile] of the Montgomery County State's Attorneys Office [official website] in Maryland said Thursday that he will not seek the death penalty for DC sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad [Wikipedia profile], who is charged with six counts of first degree murder related to the three-week series of shootings in the Washington, DC area in October 2002. Gansler said that he will only seek life sentences without the possibility of parole for Muhammad since he was already convicted of murder and sentenced to death [JURIST report] for a shooting in Mannasas, Virginia.

Moved to Montgomery County [JURIST report] in August, Muhammad's Maryland trial is scheduled to begin on May 1 [JURIST report]. His suspected accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo [Wikipedia profile], is set to face trial on October 10 and has already been sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report] for a sniper shooting in Falls Church, Virginia. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Iraqi government placed Baghdad under a daytime vehicular curfew on Friday in an attempt to quell the sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shiites that has wracked the country since the bombing of the Askariya shrine [Telegraph report] on February 22. Similar to the three-day curfew [JURIST report] that was lifted on Monday [JURIST report], the traffic ban prohibits Iraqis from using automobiles, but allows them to walk to weekly prayers. Some observers believe the curfews have been ordered to prevent a civil war between Sunnis and Shiites, who have accused each other of reprisal attacks during the last few months.

On Thursday, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari [BBC profile] of the majority Shiite Alliance addressed Iraqi religious leaders on state television, urging them to unite the country and refrain from using divisive or demagogic rhetoric to stir Iraqis' passions. Nevertheless, Sunni and Kurd leaders continue to call for Jaafari's removal from office, citing the bloodshed and economic struggles the country has endured during his term. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Ivory Coast President Lauren Gbagbo [BBC profile] has signed an extradition order authorizing Youssef Fofana to be transferred to France where he is wanted in connection with the kidnapping, torture and killing of a Jewish man outside Paris. Ivory Coast Justice Minister Mamadou Kone said Friday that Gbagbo signed the document after a court approved the extradition [AP report] Thursday. Ilan Halimi was kidnapped at the end of January by a gang said to be led by Fofana. His body was found three weeks later covered in burn marks near a train station in suburban Paris. French police say that Halimi was targeted because he was Jewish, and the murder has sparked protests across Paris [BBC report] with participants denouncing racism and anti-Semitism.

Seventeen people have been charged in France and another suspect has been arrested in Belgium. Fofana has admitted in a television interview to the kidnapping, but denied killing Halimi and also said that anti-Semitism was not a motivation. Reuters has more. From France, Le Figaro has local coverage.

[JURIST] Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo [official website] on Friday lifted a state of emergency [proclamation 1017 text; JURIST report], which Arroyo initially put in place last week after discovering a coup threat. Arroyo kept the state of emergency in effect for a week despite urging that she lift the order [JURIST report], and said Friday that she was now lifting the emergency decree [statement, in Tagalog] because she "strongly believe[s] that law and order has returned."

Criminal charges [JURIST report] have been filed against more than 50 opposition members and military personnel, including five members of the House of Representatives [official website] who have refused to be questioned by police. The country's supreme court had been scheduled to hear a case challenging the decree on Tuesday, but those cases are now moot. Earlier in the week, the Court refused an immediate ruling [JURIST report] in the case. Arroyo lifted the state of emergency after several advisors, including Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, noted that the threat to the country was receding [press release] and recommended the lifting of the emergency decree. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leading Friday's international brief, Kenyan police have conducted a night-time raid on the Standard Group, Kenya's second largest journalistic company, during which they confiscated television and radio broadcast equipment and destroyed several printing presses while allegedly searching for evidence of a specific journalistic investigation. Internal Security Minister John Michuki told a press meeting that the actions were justified under national security concerns [KBC report] and raised the possibility of more such raids if heightened criticism of the scandals surrounding Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki [official profile] does not abate. The raid follows the arrest of two Standard journalists [JURIST report] for their investigative reporting into governmental actions. The Standard was able to cobble together enough equipment to release a late afternoon report about the raid and its television and radio branches have managed to restore broadcast services. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Kenya [JURIST news archive]. The Standard has local coverage, including pictures of the raiding police officers. AP has more.

In other international legal news ...

• Sudan [government website] has reportedly filed an official complaint with the UN Security Council [official website] over the leak to the press [JURIST report] of a list of names of Sudanese government officials facing possible UN sanctions [JURIST report]. Sudanese Foreign Minister Laam Lakul issued the complaint to this month's president of the UN Security Council, alleging that the leak of names on the list has already had a negative impact on the ability of any of the individuals named to receive a fair trial should they indeed be sanctioned and eventually prosecuted. Lakul also charged the Security Council with failing its responsibility to treat serious issues with care and discretion. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Sudan [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage. Arabic News has more.
  
  
• Indonesian government officials, academics, and advocacy group leaders have urged the Indonesian Parliament [official website] to enact significant changes to the Witness and Victim Protection Bill to allow whistle-blowers and accused or convicted criminals access to witness protection programs. Currently, the bill does not recognize those categories of individuals as being in need of protection, a fact which senior anti-corruption officials, legal academics, and transparency and anti-corruption activists say makes prosecuting government graft and corruption almost impossible. The statements also warned that plea-bargaining should be more specifically addressed by the bill and recommended that an independent body, rather than the police, be in charge of setting up witness protection programs. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Indonesia [JURIST news archive]. The Jakarta Post has local coverage.
  
  
• Democratic party legislators in Hong Kong have warned the government that its new draft of the Interception of Communications and Covert Surveillance Bill was still too weak on safeguards for the rights of citizens and that unless serious changes were made to the bill, the opposition parties in Hong Kong's Legislative Council [official website] would vote against its passage. The bill has until the beginning of August to be passed or, under a Hong Kong High Court ruling [JURIST report], a current executive order from Chief Executive Donald Tsang [official profile] would be annulled and all governmental surveillance on citizens would be unlawful. The main complaint against the legislation by opposition members is the complete lack of sanctions against the government for wrongful use of the bill's provisions. Currently, a government official found to have purposefully abused surveillance tactics faces no punishment. AsiaMedia has local coverage.

[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan [official website] has said that he is "chagrined" about the US opposition [JURIST report] to a draft resolution [PDF text; JURIST report] that would create a new UN Human Rights Council to replace the widely criticized Commission on Human Rights [official website]. Annan told reporters Thursday that the hoped the US would be able to "find some way of associating itself with the other member states," saying that it is important that a decision be made on the rights body as soon as possible. Though US rejection has lead to a delay [JURIST report] in the UN General Assembly's vote on the resolution, Europe has welcomed the resolution [JURIST report] with the European Union issuing a statement asserting that the proposal meets "the basic requirements for the establishment of a Human Rights Council" and that the EU "could therefore accept this text as a compromise."

US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton [official profile] has said that he will vote against the resolution unless modifications are made to the proposal that will take greater precautions to ensure that rights violators cannot get a seat on the council. The US is also pushing for a smaller body than the proposed 47-member council, and wants changes in the resolution that would make it easier for the US to obtain a seat. British Ambassador to the UN Emyr Jones Parry [official website] has distanced himself from his European counterparts, saying that while the proposal is acceptable, the council will need the support of the US in order to be acceptable. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] At a hearing in Washington Thursday US District Judge Gladys Kessler [official profile] questioned the treatment of Mohammed Bawazir, a former hunger striker at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] eventually force-fed in treatment his lawyers say was torture contrary to the terms of the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA) [JURIST document]. Bawazir, from Yemen, claims [JURIST report] that he gave up his hunger strike because the force-feedings [JURIST news archive] - during which he was strapped to a restraining chair and fed through a large tube - were too painful. Kessler called his allegations "extremely disturbing". US Justice Department attorney Terry Henry countered with affidavits from Guantanamo officers, including commander Maj. Gen. Jay W. Hood and detentions hospital head Capt. Stephen Hooker, suggesting that Bawazir received high-quality and humane treatment throughout the hunger strike. He argued that in any event Guantanamo prisoners could not invoke the DTA. Referring to the affidavits, Kessler responded: "I know it's a sad day when a federal judge has to ask a DOJ attorney this, but I'm asking you -- why should I believe them", and directed the government and the detainee’s lawyers to collect and present more information for a hearing March 13. The Washington Post has more.

This is the first time that a US court has heard arguments on the DTA, passed late last year at the urging of Senator John McCain [JURIST news archive]. The act prohibits cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of any person in the US government's custody, at home or abroad, but under a provision known as the Levin-Graham Amendment [JURIST report] also limits access by Guantanamo detainees to the federal court system to enforce their rights. AP has more.

On Friday, the BBC released an interview [recorded audio] with another former Guantanamo hunger striker, Kuwaiti Fawzi al-Odah [JURIST report], who described the force-feeding process and at one point added "One guy, a Saudi, told me that he had once been tortured in Saudi Arabia and that this metal chair treatment was worse than any torture he had ever endured or could imagine." BBC News has more.

[JURIST Europe] Russian civil aviation pilots have drafted an address to President Vladimir Putin expressing concern over a provision in a new anti-terrorism bill allowing for the shooting-down of hijacked planes. The bill was passed last month [JURIST report] by the Russian Duma and approved earlier this week by the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament. The pilots fear such a policy will reduce flight safety as pilots' "physiological and emotional state" would be drastically impaired, and hope to meet with Putin to discuss the matter. Last month the German Federal Constitutional Court [official website in German] overturned a similar German law [JURIST report], asserting that it infringed on the right to life and human dignity.

The Russian anti-terror bill in its present form would also allow the Russian secret services to tap telephone conversations and use preemptive force to remove suspected terrorists from Russia. MosNews has local coverage.

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

[JURIST Europe] Italian Justice Minister Roberto Castelli [official profile] has accused Milan prosecutors of unlawfully pressuring him to request the extradition from the US [JURIST report] of 22 CIA agents allegedly responsible for the 2003 kidnapping and extraordinary rendition [JURIST news archive] of Egyptian cleric Moustafa Hassan Nasr [Wikipedia profile; JURIST report]. Castelli made the accusation after receiving a prosecutors' letter urging action on their original extradition request of four months ago.

Nasr, a terrorist suspect also known as Abu Omar, was kidnapped from a Milan street and then allegedly flown to Egypt where he was tortured. Castelli, together with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [official profile], has suggested that pushing the case forward may hurt US-Italian ties. Berlusconi is a staunch US ally, but has in the past warned the US [JURIST report] to respect Italian sovereignty in the investigation. In November, Castelli suggested that principal prosecutor Armando Spataro was a leftist animated by "anti-Americanism" [JURIST report] in his pursuit of the case. AP has more.

[JURIST Europe] A Moscow court on Thursday granted incarcerated Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky [MosNews profile; JURIST news archive] more access to his lawyers, allowing consultation with them during prison working hours. Khodorkovsky, the former owner of a Russian oil giant Yukos [corporate website; JURIST news archive], has been jailed for tax fraud [JURIST report] and is serving his sentence at a Siberian prison. In January, Khodorkovsky petitioned against prison rules [JURIST report] that allowed meetings with his lawyers for up to four hours each day, but only outside working hours between wake-up and lock-up. His lawyers successfully argued that under Part 3 Article 55 of the Russian Constitution [text] such restrictions could only be imposed by federal law, and that the Russian criminal and penal code only specified minimum lengths of meetings with lawyers, not the times during which the meetings can take place.

Khodorkovsky and his defense team continue to insist that his prosecution and punishment are primarily political, as he was a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a financial underwriter of opposition causes and was generally seen as a possible political rival. Radio Free Europe has more.

[JURIST Europe] Russia's Prosecutor General [official website in Russian] has requested that the British government extradite business tycoon Boris Berezovsky [MosNews profile] on charges of plotting a coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin [official website, English version]. In an interview with a Russian radio station in January, Berezovsky labeled Putin's regime as 'anti-constitutional' and having 'lost all legitimacy', advocating the forceful removal of Putin from office. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) [official website in Russian] is currently building a case against Berezovsky but has refused to say if the interview is part of the investigation [Moscow Times report]. The extradition request follows a warning by British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw [BBC profile] to Berezovsky that further interviews like the previous one may result in a review of his asylum status in the UK.

Berezovsky acquired his fortune in the 1990s and served as Boris Yeltsin's national security adviser. Although he helped Putin come to power as Yeltsin's successor, he soon fell out of favor and moved to the UK in 2000. He was granted asylum in 2003. BBC News has more.

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