[JURIST] The UN Security Council passed a resolution 12-0 Tuesday imposing sanctions on four individuals for acts or abuses committed in the troubled Darfur [JURIST news archive] region of Sudan and calling for the conclusion of a peace agreement for the area by the end of the month. China, the Russian Federation and Qatar all abstained from the vote on the measure sponsored [JURIST report] by United States, Britain and six other Council members, saying that the sanctions would disrupt the tenuous peace process.

Under Resolution 1672 [text], restrictions were placed on the assets and international travel of Major General Gaffar Mohamed Elhassan, Commander of the Western Military Region for the Sudanese Air Force; Adam Yacub Shant, Commander of the Sudanese Liberation Army rebel group; Gabril Abdul Kareem Badri, the Field Commander of another rebel group, the National Movement for Reform; and Sheikh Musa Hilal, the Paramount Chief of the Jalul Tribe in North Darfur. The latest resolution implements Resolution 1591 (2005) [text], adopted in March of last year, which allowed the Council to take action against

those individuals...who impede the peace process, constitute a threat to stability in Darfur and the region, commit violations of international humanitarian or human rights law or other atrocities, violate the measures implemented by Member States in accordance with paragraphs 7 and 8 of resolution 1556 (2004) and paragraph 7 of this resolution as implemented by a state, or are responsible for offensive military overflights....

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday considered whether a criminal defendant must prove a duress defense by a preponderance of the evidence or, instead, if the government must prove absence of duress beyond a reasonable doubt. In Dixon v. United States [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], Dixon was charged with firearms offenses and at trial raised battered woman's syndrome [Wikipedia backgrounder] as a defense. The trial court instructed the jury that Dixon bore the burden of persuasion and the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed her conviction [opinion, PDF], ruling that duress is an affirmative defense. During arguments Tuesday, the justices noted that the 29 states who put the burden of persuasion on prosecutors have not experienced problems with that scheme. AP has more.

The Court also heard arguments in Empire HealthChoice Assurance v. McVeigh [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], where the Court will decide whether federal question jurisdiction exists over a suit by a federal government contractor to enforce, on behalf of the United States, a provision in a health benefits plan for federal employees that is part of a government contract established pursuant to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Act. The Second Circuit found no federal question jurisdiction [opinion, PDF] in the case, where Empire sued for reimbursement of insurance benefits paid under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program [OPM materials].

Finally, the Court heard re-arguments [JURIST report] in Kansas v. Marsh [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], concerning whether a sentencing scheme is constitutional when it imposes the death penalty when jurors found mitigating and aggravating evidence to be equal, in order to allow Justice Alito to participate in consideration of the case. The Court first heard arguments in December [JURIST report], but were unable to reach a decision before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired from the bench. On re-argument, Alito asked several questions, but didn't give any indication of how he might vote. AP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that a federal jury in California has found Hamid Hayat [JURIST news archive] guilty of providing material support to terrorists [indictment, PDF] by attending an al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan. Hayat was also found guilty of lying to investigators and faces a maximum sentence of 31 years in prison. Earlier Tuesday, US District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. declared a mistrial [JURIST report] in the related trial of Hayat's father, Umer. Umer was charged with lying to the FBI about his son's activities, but the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after deliberating for nearly two weeks. Lawyers will meet next week to decide whether that case should be retried.

Defense attorneys in the case had asked to review evidence gathered by the National Security Agency [official website] in the three-year investigation of the Hayats and other members of the Pakistani community in Lodi, California. The lawyers had hoped to review the NSA records to determine whether evidence had been gathered using controversial warrantless domestic wiretaps [JURIST news archive], but Burrell denied the request [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller [official profile] said Tuesday that Denmark intended to turn down a request to take custody of former Liberian President Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] should he be convicted of war crimes charges [indictment, PDF] by the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website]. The court has asked to use International Criminal Court facilities [JURIST report] at The Hague in the Netherlands for the trial, citing security concerns should the proceeding remain in Sierra Leone. Dutch authorities have said they will grant the request, but only on the condition that another country accept custody of Taylor immediately after proceedings conclude.

UN negotiators have so far been unsuccessful in finding a country willing to take custody of Taylor [JURIST report] and both Austria and Sweden have also rejected requests to take Taylor [JURIST report]. Taylor has petitioned the court [JURIST report] to keep his trial in Sierra Leone. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross [official website], said Tuesday that ICRC recommendations to US officials have resulted in considerable improvements in detention conditions at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. Kellenberger told Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve, however, that problems remain with the terms of detention [TG report, in French] at Guantanamo, referring to ICRC's disagreement with US officials on whether Guantanamo detainees are entitled to full Geneva Convention protections [ICRC materials].

The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has called for international pressure [JURIST report] on the US to shut down the facility due to documented human rights violations [OHCHR report, PDF]. The US is scheduled to defend its rights records before the UN Committee against Torture next week, and the committee has indicated it intends to question the US on the treatment of prisoners detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Prosecutors in Serbia [JURIST news archive] on Tuesday charged eight policemen for the killing of 48 Kosovar Albanians in the first weeks of the 1999 war in Kosovo [JURIST archive]. According to the indictment, the police officers are accused of shooting the 48 Albanians in the town of Suva Reka [HRW backgrounder] and then shipping the bodies to a mass grave outside of Belgrade. Tuesday's indictment is the latest step in Serb prosecutions of war crimes that occurred during the 1999 Kosovo war, arguably undertaken under pressure from Europe and the ICTY before EU membership talks. In October of last year, Serbian officials arrested nine Serbian police officers suspected in the killing [JURIST report].

Tuesday's indictment is the first official accusation that came from the 2001 discovery of the mass grave [BBC report] where the 48 bodies were discovered. In addition to those bodies, investigators also found the remains of more than 800 victims of the 1998-99 war. The indictment comes as representatives from Kosovo and Serbia continue to discuss [JURIST report] whether Kosovo will become a sovereign nation or will remain legally a part of Serbia. The territory is currently under UN administration. [UNMIK website]. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) [official website] spokesman said Tuesday that the agency would introduce new rules to speed up the immigration process and prevent serious delays, apparently sidestepping a threat of mass lawsuits from Arab rights advocates. Although the spokesperson conceded that delays did occur in the naturalization process, he contended that only 1 percent of petitions for naturalization wait more than 120 days for a ruling. The spokesperson also noted that the US government naturalized approximately 450,000 people every year.

Rights advocates argue that delays within the US immigration system are widespread, and appear to be targeted at Arabs and other Middle Eastern persons attempting to immigrate to the US. In response to the problem, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee [advocacy website] was preparing to file suit in federal court on behalf of dozens of individuals awaiting naturalization. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Intelligence Authorization Bill for Fiscal Year 2007 [HR 5020 summary], up for a vote in the US House this week, contains several provisions which would expand the authority [POGO letter] of the National Security Agency and Central Intelligence Agency [official websites] to crack down on unauthorized leaks of classified information. Sections 423 and 432 of the bill would authorize CIA and NSA security personnel to make warrantless arrests for "any felony" committed in their presence, even if the felony occurs off CIA or NSA premises. The expansion of arrest powers would overrule a 2005 opinion [PDF text] from the Maryland attorney general, which limits NSA police powers to NSA grounds plus 500 feet. The proposed legislation would also require the director of national intelligence to look into revoking the pensions of anyone found to have made unauthorized disclosures.

The proposals come amid Bush administration efforts to crack down on unauthorized leaks. Former vice-presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense profile], though not charged with directly leaking information, is being prosecuted in connection with the leak [JURIST news archive] of former CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Just last week, a CIA employee was fired [JURIST report] for unauthorized disclosure of information, reportedly in connection with a Washington Post story alleging CIA secret prisons in Europe [JURIST report], though there has not been an official confirmation of the information leaked, and associates of the leaker have denied that she leaked the information. Siobhan Gorman of the Baltimore Sun has more.

[JURIST] As part of a larger response to record high gasoline prices, President George W. Bush on Tuesday announced [official transcript] that the US Environmental Protection Agency [official website] would suspend certain rules governing the refining of gasoline. By avoiding additive requirements originally imposed to meet clean air requirements, the move will supposedly make it easier for gasoline producers to market their product, which in turn will bring down the overall cost at the pump. Some petrochemical experts have voiced concern over the move [Bloomberg report], however, arguing that the government should not change gasoline blending rules without a clear showing of what the effect of the change will be.

The President has also directed an investigation into possible gasoline price fixing. In a joint effort by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) [official website], the US Department of Justice [official website], and the Department of Energy [official website], the federal government will look into whether oil companies took advantage of the record high price of crude oil to unfairly manipulate gasoline prices. The Justice Department has contacted Attorneys General in all 50 US states, asking for technical assistance and requesting that they conduct their own investigations into possible price fixing within their own states. AP has more.

[JURIST] Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, who was in charge of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center [backgrounder] at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison [JURIST news archive] in 2003, will face charges in connection to the prison abuse scandal, a lawyer for Jordan said Tuesday. The lawyer, Samuel Spitzberg, said he had been informed that the US Army plans to charge Jordan with dereliction of duty, lying to investigators and conduct unbecoming an officer, but an Army spokesman said Tuesday that there has not been a final decision on the allegations against Jordan. Jordan, who was trained as a civil affairs officer and put in charge of the Abu Ghraib interrogation center when it was formed in September 2003, admitted to Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba [Times profile], who investigated the Abu Ghraib abuses, that he was a poor choice to oversee interrogations [NYT report]. The Taguba report [PDF text] recommended that Jordan be relieved from duty and reprimanded for "failing to ensure that Soldiers under his direct control knew, understood, and followed the protections afforded to detainees in the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" and "failing to properly supervise soldiers under his direct authority." In addition, the August 2004 Fay report [PDF text; JURIST report] recommended that Jordan and Col. Thomas Pappas [Wikipedia profile], Jordan's superior, be punished for their role in the abuse scandal. It was disclosed in January that Army investigators had recommended [LA Times report] Jordan be charged.

If charged, Jordan will be the highest-ranking Army officer to face criminal charges as a result of the abuse scandal. Several lower-ranking officers have been convicted in connection with the abuse investigation, but superior officers have so far only received other punishments, including reprimands, fines and being relieved of command. US Army Reserve Colonel Janis Karpinski, the former US commander of Abu Ghraib, was relieved of her command and demoted for dereliction of duty [JURIST reports] in 2005. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Accused Saudi Al Qaeda operative Jabran Said bin al Qahtani, a prisoner at the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], told a US military commission there Tuesday that the United States was an "enemy of God" and said he would prefer death to complying with the tribunal. The US government has accused Qahtani [DOD charge sheet, PDF] of building hand-held detonators like the kind used against US forces in Afghanistan. He and two other detainees face military commissions [JURIST news archive] this week to answer various charges against them.

Presiding officer Navy Capt. Daniel O'Toole called a recess after Qahtani's outburst, but Qahtani did not return. His lawyer said afterwards that he was boycotting the proceeding and would not come back unless physically forced. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Zimbabwe [JURIST news archive] State Security Minister Didymus Mutasa on Tuesday repeated his threats that government soldiers and police will use deadly force if necessary to thwart any protests organized by opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai [BBC profile]. Mutasa was reported to have made similar statements [ZimOnline report] earlier this month, but has denied promising to use guns against protesters [VOA report].

Tsvangirai and his opposition Movement for Democratic Change [party website] have called for widespread street protests [ZimOnline report] to end the presidency of Robert Mugabe [BBC profile], who has led the country since its independence from the UK 26 years ago. Last week, Mugabe threatened to unleash the "full wrath of the law" [JURIST report] against any groups that oppose his government. ZimOnline has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. [official profile] on Tuesday declared a mistrial in the case of Umer Hayat, who is accused of lying to the FBI about his son's alleged terrorism-related activities, after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict after almost two weeks of deliberations. Hayat's son, Hamid, is also on trial on related charges [indictment, PDF] and the jury in Hamid's case is still deliberating. In addition to being charged with lying to US law enforcement agents about attending terrorist training camps in Pakistan, Hamid is also accused of providing material support to terrorists.

Defense attorneys in the case had asked to review evidence gathered by the National Security Agency [official website] in the three-year investigation of the Hayats and other members of the Pakistani community in Lodi, California. The lawyers had hoped to review the NSA records to determine whether evidence had been gathered using controversial warrantless domestic wiretaps [JURIST news archive], but Burrell denied the request [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Serge Brammertz [official profile], the deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court who is heading the UN's independent investigation [UN materials] into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], on Tuesday met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad [BBC profile] to discuss Syria's alleged involvement in the 2005 bombing which killed Hariri. Earlier this year Assad rejected [JURIST report] requests from the UN commission for an interview but later agreed to meet with investigators [JURIST report]. Tuesday's meeting was Brammertz's first with Assad and Vice President Farouq al-Shara.

The UN commission has submitted two reports to the UN Security Council [JURIST report] implicating Syrian officials in the assassination. Detlev Mehlis, the German prosecutor who headed the probe until resigning at the end of 2005, has also said that he is "convinced" that Syrian authorities are responsible for Hariri's death [JURIST report]. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is currently negotiating the establishment of a tribunal [JURIST report] that will try suspects in the assassination plot. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Tuesday handed down opinions in two cases, including Northern Insurance v. Chatham County [Duke Law case backgrounder], 04-1618, where the Court held that an entity that is not entitled to immunity under the Eleventh Amendment cannot assert "residual sovereign immunity" as a defense to an admiralty suit under common law. In the case, an insured's boat was destroyed by a drawbridge operated by Chatham County, Georgia, but when the insurance company sued for negligent maintenance of the bridge, the county government asserted immunity under the Eleventh Amendment. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled [text] that the county was acting as an "arm of the state" and was entitled to sovereign immunity based on common law, but not under the Eleventh Amendment, but the Supreme Court overturned the lower court in a unanimous decision. Read the Court's opinion [text], written by Justice Thomas.

In the second case decided Tuesday, the Court held in Day v. McDonough [Duke Law case backgrounder], 04-1324, that a trial court has discretion to dismiss a habeas corpus petition as untimely under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 [PDF text]. In the 5-4 decision, the Court upheld an Eleventh Circuit decision [PDF text] affirming the dismissal of a habeas petition that was filed after the one-year statute of limitations had expired. The district court dismissed the petition sua sponte without the state raising the statute of limitations as an affirmative defense. Read the Court's majority opinion [text], per Justice Ginsburg, along with dissent [text] from Justice Scalia, joined by Justices Breyer and Thomas, and a separate dissent [text] by Justice Stevens, who was joined in part by Justice Breyer. SCOTUSblog has more.

[JURIST] Former Computer Associates [corporate website] CEO Sanjay Kumar pleaded guilty Monday to charges [press release; JURIST report] of securities fraud, perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with allegations that the company improperly booked $2.2 billion in revenue in 1999 and 2000. Kumar and former CA sales head Stephen Richards, who also pleaded guilty Monday, initially pleaded not guilty [JURIST report] in September 2004. Kumar apologized for his actions, telling the court that he recognized his conduct was wrong. Kumar and Richards will be sentenced in September.

No reason has been given for the change in plea, but another former CA executive, Tommy Bennett, was arrested [KRT report] last week on charges relating to the accounting fraud. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit [official website] has refused to conduct a full court rehearing [order, PDF] of a three-judge panel's ruling [JURIST report] that a Mercer County, Kentucky courthouse display containing the Ten Commandments is constitutional. In the decision [PDF text] last December, the judges distinguished the Mercer County display from displays ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court [JURIST report] last year based upon its history. The court cited the inclusion of other historical documents in the original Mercer County display as evidence that the display did not demonstrate a religious intent or purpose.

Five judges joined in a dissent [PDF text] from the decision not to rehear the case, arguing that the majority blatantly disregarded the county's religious intent and misconstrued the Supreme Court's decision:

In short, the panel essentially ignored the Supreme Court's characterization of the content of the Mercer County display. The panel flouted the Supreme Court's charge that the reasonable observer not be "absentminded," and the panel viewed context as coterminous with legislative history. Compare Mercer County, 432 F.3d at 632 ("The objective observer has no recent history of religiously motivated governmental acts or resolutions to incorporate into the display.") with McCreary County, 125 S. Ct. 2737 ("The Counties' position just bucks common sense; reasonable observers have reasonable memories, and our precedents sensibly forbid an observer 'to turn a blind eye to the context in which [the] policy arose.'"). The panel read Mercer County's action of quickly and exactly copying its fellow counties' embattled and religiously motivated display out of the record. Rather, the panel held as a matter of law, ostensibly construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, that the reasonable observer would perceive a predominantly secular purpose behind Mercer County's display.

[JURIST] Leading Tuesday's international brief, Iran could be the target of a new UN Security Council [official website] resolution mandating compliance with an International Atomic Energy Agency [official website] order that Iran cease production of enriched uranium [BBC report]. US, UK, and French officials have reportedly met and agreed on a template for a binding resolution that would force Iran to cease production of nuclear materials. A previous UN resolution passed in connection with the same order was not worded to invoke Chapter 7 of the UN Charter [official text], which gives authority to the Security Council to mandate the compliance of a UN member in the name of international peace and security. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told reporters Monday that sanctions would hurt other nations more than Iran, and hinted again [JURIST report] that if the UN passed the resolution, Iran would consider withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty [official text]. Aljazeera has local coverage. AFP has more.

In other international legal news ...

• Spokesman for the US Mission to the UN Richard Grenell told reporters Monday evening that the US may call for a vote on the Sudan sanctions resolution [JURIST report] currently before the UN Security Council [official website] despite continued opposition to the measure by permanent members Russia and China. Both nations view the sanctions as risky, in light of current negotiations between Darfur rebels and Sudan being mediated by the African Union [official website]. Either China or Russia could block the resolution with a veto, due to their position as permanent members of the Security Council, but the call to vote on the resolution would force the representatives to actually use the veto, instead of merely threatening its use, as is usual in Security Council negotiations. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of Darfur [JURIST news archive]. The Sudan Tribune has local coverage.
  
  
• A key state witness in the ongoing treason trial against Ugandan opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye [JURIST news archive] has admitted on cross-examination that he lied under oath while testifying for the state. George Abedo, a self-confessed murderer and rapist and acknowledged member of the Lord's Resistance Army [MIPT backgrounder], told the court during his Monday testimony for the state that he had been granted amnesty for his crimes. When asked on cross-examination to produce his letter of amnesty, however, Abedo could only produce a letter he had intended to send to the local government requesting amnesty. Upon questioning by the judge, Abedo admitted that he lied about his amnesty. The judge said he would rule on what actions would be taken by Abedo following the conclusion of the testimony. The admission creates concerns about the credibility of a star witness of the state and continues the trouble faced by Ugandan prosecutor's trying Besigye. Uganda's Daily Monitor has local coverage.
  
  
• The head of South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority [government website] has issued a denial of Monday's report that NPA Chief Executive Officer Marion Sparg and a significant number of other NPA officials faced charges of corruption and tender rigging [JURIST report] in an ongoing public probe into the department. Vusi Pikoli told reporters that no criminal charges were pending against any NPA employee, but did confirm that Sparg and other employees were facing an internal disciplinary hearing for "alleged poor administration in the NPA during the period 2001 to 2003". Vusi said that internal disciplinary matters are confidential and not open to press review. JURIST's Paper Chase has continuing coverage of South Africa [JURIST news archive]. South Africa's Mail & Guardian Online has local coverage.

[JURIST] Yemeni al Qaeda member Khaled Mohammed Abdullah al-Batati, one of the 23 prisoners who escaped from prison in February [JURIST report], has turned himself in to authorities. Al-Batati, the eighth escapee to turn himself in, was serving a three-year sentence [JURIST report] for plotting an attack upon the British and Italian embassies and French cultural center in Sanaa when he escaped through a tunnel into a nearby mosque.

Still missing among the high-profile escapees are Jamal Ahmed Badawi [MIPT profile], who was serving a fifteen-year sentence for his role in the 2000 terror attack [US DOD inquiry report] on the USS Cole [official website] and Fawaz al-Rabeei, sentenced to 15 years in prison [BBC report] for his role in the 2002 attack on the French tanker Limburg [BBC report]. Authorities have offered $27,800 for any information leading to the capture of escapees. AP has more.

[JURIST] Opposition political parties in Nepal on Tuesday formally ended several weeks of pro-democracy protests [JURIST news archive] after King Gyanendra [official profile; BBC profile] ordered the reinstatement of parliament [JURIST report] on Monday. Leaders from the seven-party opposition alliance said that they wanted Nepali Congress [party website] leader Girija Prasad Koirala, a former prime minister, to head the new government. The Nepal House of Representatives is scheduled to meet for the first time since 2002 on Friday and will name an interim government. The interim government is then expected to set a date for special elections to elect an assembly which will draft a new constitution [current text], a key demand of protesters.

In February 2005, Gyanendra seized control of the government and dismissed elected officials [JURIST report] and widespread protests began earlier this month to pressure Gyanendra to return political power to the people [JURIST report]. Gyanendra has defended his actions as necessary to contain the Maoist insurgency [BBC backgrounder], which has led to over 13,000 deaths in the past 10 years. Maoist leaders have rejected Gyanendra's concessions, but opposition political leaders say they will work to declare a cease-fire with the Maoists after a new government has been formed. AP has more. eKantipur.com has local coverage.

[JURIST] The chief military prosecutor for Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], USAF Col. Morris Davis [official profile, PDF], Monday announced plans to charge an additional two dozen Guantanamo detainees and to seek the death penalty against several. Three of the 10 detainees originally charged are in the midst of pre-trial hearings which resume this week [AFPS report]. One, Algerian Sufyian Barhoumi [DOD charge sheet, PDF], is protesting his removal from a much-preferred communal living unit called Camp Four [DOD photo], used to house co-operative detainees, to the maximum security Camp Five section of the Guantanamo Bay base. AP has more.

The Pentagon also said Monday that it would be releasing an additional 141 Guantanamo detainees who have been deemed by Administrative Review Boards [DOD backgrounder] to pose no security threat and are longer classed as "enemy combatants." No timetable or location for the releases has yet been announced. There are approximately 490 prisoners now being held at the facility. The Los Angeles Times has more.

[JURIST] DC sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad [Wikipedia profile] agreed Monday to allow three attorneys to stand by and provide advice upon request when he begins representing himself at his trial [JURIST report], set to begin May 1. Maryland Judge James L. Ryan granted the defendant's request [JURIST report] to represent himself last month despite protestation from Muhammad's court-appointed attorneys that he was not competent to stand trial [AP report].

Muhammad has been sentenced to death for one of the ten DC-area killings [PBS report] in Manassas, Virginia and now faces six counts of first degree murder in Maryland. Lee Boyd Malvo [Wikipedia profile], Muhammad's accomplice, has already been sentenced to life [JURIST report] for one of the shootings in Virginia. AP has more.

[JURIST Europe] Former president of Liberia Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] is being requested to testify at the trial of a Dutch timber trader indicted for facilitating the import of weapons to Liberia in exchange for timber, a violation of a UN arms embargo. Dutch prosecutors assert that while heading timber companies in Liberia, Guus Van Kouwenhoven [Trial Watch backgrounder] established a close relationship with Taylor that led to dealings in 'blood timber'. Lawyers for the Dutch timber trader believe Taylor will be a crucial witness in his defense. Timber became the chief source of financing for the civil war in Liberia and Sierra Leone due to UN sanctions on 'blood diamonds'.

Taylor, indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website] for war crimes and crimes against humanity [indictment, PDF] and now facing trial after his capture [JURIST report] in March, is currently fighting requests [JURIST report] to have his own proceeding moved from Freetown, Sierra Leone to the facilities of the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands. The UN Security Council [official website] is continuing its search for a host country [JURIST report] for Taylor once a verdict has been reached. 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.