[JURIST] The state of Missouri [JURIST news archive] must give all prison inmates access to abortion [JURIST news archive] a federal judge in Kansas City ruled [PDF text] Tuesday. US District Judge Dean Whipple [official profile] ruled last year in Roe v. Crawford that Missouri had to provide a particular inmate with transportation to an abortion facility and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] subsequently asked that the lawsuit be amended and that the lawsuit be certified as a class action. Whipple on Tuesday granted the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, ruling that "Having shown that Defendants intentionally deny Plaintiffs' the right to have an elective abortion, in conjunction with the Third Circuit's designation of a nontherapeutic abortion as a "serious medical need," Plaintiffs have established the absence of a genuine issue of material fact, and are accordingly entitled to judgment in their favor as a matter of law." In a statement [text], Gov. Matt Blunt called the ruling "an affront to everyone that values the sanctity of human life" and urged the state attorney general to appeal. Diana Kasdan, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, praised the decision [ACLU press release], saying: "Prison officials can no longer ignore the medical needs of women prisoners seeking abortions. We applaud the court for recognizing that women do not give up their right to abortion care when they enter prison."

The state asked the US Supreme Court last year to block Whipple's original decision in the case. The court initially stayed the decision's enforcement but then lifted the temporary stay [JURIST reports] in October, allowing Whipple's order to stand. The inmate who filed the lawsuit had an abortion three days later, and at least two other inmates have terminated their pregnancies since then. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Senate voted [roll call] Tuesday afternoon to increase federal funding for embryonic stem cell research [JURIST news archive], but the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act [PDF text; HR 810 summary] fell four votes shy of the two-thirds supermajority needed to survive an expected White House veto [JURIST report] - President Bush's first. At an afternoon press briefing [transcript], press secretary Tony Snow promised "pretty swift" action once the bill arrives at the White House. Snow also reiterated the administration's position on the bill:

What the President has said is that he doesn't want human life destroyed. ... The President believes strongly that for the purpose of research it's inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder; he's one of them.

Furthermore, it is worth pointing out that this government did make available already existing lines [of stem cells]. ... And the most recent figures we have are 2004, but 85 percent of all the embryonic stem cell research on Earth was conducted using those lines. There is nothing that makes embryonic stem cell research illegal; it simply says that the federal government will not finance it. As you know, there are ongoing efforts in some states, including, I think, California and Massachusetts, to use state money for it, and I daresay if people think that there's a market for it, they're going to support it handsomely. The simple answer is he thinks murder is wrong....

[JURIST] Islamic militant group Hezbollah [US State Dept. backgrounder; BBC backgrounder] violated international humanitarian law [ICRC backgrounder] and likely committed war crimes [press release] by firing the rockets that have killed at least a dozen Israelis [Israel MFA report], whether the attacks were targeted at civilians or merely indiscriminate, Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] (HRW) [advocacy website] said Tuesday. Most of the rockets were a type that can't be aimed precisely and have limited range, and the design of the warheads - which contained ball bearings that become shrapnel on impact - indicate an intent to harm civilians and their property. "Hezbollah's use of warheads that have limited military use and cause grievous suffering to the victims only makes the crime worse," said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa division. HRW quoted Dr. Eran Tal-Or, director of an emergency room in Haifa, Israel, as saying that

In my medical opinion, they [these rockets] are supposed to injure as many people as possible. If you wanted to bring down a building, you would make a weapon with a heavier blast. And you wouldn't bother with the balls inside that don't do much harm to buildings; just to people.

• In an interview [recorded video] with the BBC Tuesday, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora [BBC profile] called on Hezbollah to free two Israeli soldiers while criticizing Israel's response to their capture as violating the doctrine of proportionality [CFR backgrounder]. Siniora accused Israel of "opening the gates of hell and madness" on Lebanon. BBC News has more.
  
  
• Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported Tuesday that the head of Iran's Judiciary [official website], Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi [Wikipedia profile], has described Hezbollah's rocket attacks as "worthy and encouraging." Iranian state media quoted him as saying that Israel is encouraged by "unlimited and illogical US support" and that the UN response to the crisis has been "too weak, too little." IRIB News has more.
  
  
• The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) [advocacy website] has warned that a major humanitarian crisis is looming [FIDH press release] in Lebanon and northern Israel, noting that bombings of the international airport in Beirut and the country's major roads, bridges and harbors are preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Lebanese citizens. The FIDH also called on Hezbollah to permit the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) [official website] to examine the two captured Israeli soldiers and urged it to treat all detainees in a humane manner, while urging the UN Security Council [official website] to adopt a resolution that would bring an end to the conflict.

[JURIST] Iranian human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani [Amnesty International appeal; Wikipedia profile] says he has received a five-year prison sentence for disclosing confidential information and engaging in propaganda against the regime, even though neither he nor his lawyers appeared in court or saw the primary evidence against him. Working with Tehran's Defenders of Human Rights Center, which is led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi [Nobel profile], Soltani has represented dissident journalist Akbar Ganji [PEN American Center profile] and the family of Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi [CBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], who died in Iranian custody in July 2003.

Soltani told AFP he was cleared of spying charges. He was arrested a year ago [JURIST report] while defending two people charged with spying on Iran's nuclear program. Soltani was jailed for more than seven months before he was freed on bail. AFP has more.

[JURIST] AP is reporting that the US House of Representatives [official website] has defeated a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. House leaders scheduled the vote [JURIST report] on the Marriage Protection Amendment [PDF text; H.J. Res. 88 summary] despite a failed vote on the Senate floor [JURIST report] in June. Last month, President Bush urged Congress to approve the amendment [JURIST report].

The House vote was 236-187 [roll call] in favor of the proposal, falling 47 votes short of the two-thirds majority necessary to approve a constitutional amendment. To become law, a constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority in each house of Congress followed by ratification by three-quarters of the states. AP has more.

[JURIST] BetOnSports PLC [corporate profile] and its chief executive are among four corporations and 11 individuals indicted by a federal grand jury in St. Louis on charges of racketeering, conspiracy and fraud for allegedly accepting illegal sports bets online. The indictment, returned on June 1 but only unsealed Monday, also alleges that BetOnSports founder Gary Stephen Kaplan failed to pay federal excise taxes on more than $3.3 billion in wagers by US customers. The indictment was released after BetOnSports Chief Executive David Carruthers was arrested [Star-Telegram report] during a layover at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. In a US Justice Department (DOJ) press release [text], Catherine L. Hanaway [official profile], US attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, said:

Illegal commercial gambling across state and international borders is a crime. Misuse of the Internet to violate the law can ultimately only serve to harm legitimate businesses. This indictment is but one step in a series of actions designed to punish and seize the profits of individuals who disregard federal and state laws.

[JURIST] Leading class-action law firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman [firm website] has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges in US District Court in Los Angeles. In a message e-mailed to the media after Monday's arraignment, the firm described its indictment [PDF text] as "unprecedented and unfair" and expressed confidence that it would be "fully vindicated," echoing an earlier statement [text]. Three individuals have already pleaded guilty in the case [JURIST report]. Two months ago, Milberg Weiss became the largest US law firm ever indicted when it and two of its partners were accused [JURIST report] of having paid up to $11.3 million since 1984 to individuals to serve as lead plaintiffs in class-action and shareholder derivative lawsuits. Prosecutors said Milberg Weiss collected fees of $216.1 million in those cases. In court yesterday, Assistant US Attorney Douglas Axel said additional indictments in the case were a "significant possibility." District Judge John F. Walter [official profile] said he expected to schedule a trial for late 2007. Last month, five other judges recused themselves from the case [JURIST report] because each had owned stock in a company sued by Milberg Weiss in the past, had approved attorneys fees in a suit brought by Milberg Weiss or had been supported by a former Milberg partner when appointed to the federal bench.

Also on Monday, Milberg Weiss was appointed lead counsel in a class-action lawsuit against a bankrupt oil company - one of several such appointments since indictment. The firm has, however, lost a number of partners and clients in that time. Bloomberg News has more. The Los Angeles Times has local coverage.

[JURIST] The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) [official website] has expressed continued concern for the human rights situation in Iraq [JURIST news archive] in its latest bi-monthly report [PDF text], welcoming the new Iraqi government's "firm commitment to address forcefully urgent human rights concerns" while establishing democracy, but also noting concern over the increasing number of civilian casualties [press release] at the hands of terrorists, insurgents, militias and criminal groups. The report, released Monday, urged the government to immediately dismantle criminal groups and armed Shiite militias [CFR backgrounder] that are often accused of serious human rights violations, particularly in Iraqi-run detention centers under the control of armed militias [JURIST report].

The report welcomed steps taken towards national reconciliation [proposal text and press release; JURIST report] under the government of new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [BBC profile], including the release [JURIST report] of over 3,000 detainees held by US and Iraqi forces. The report also noted the improving situation in the northern region of Kurdistan, complimenting new legislation in favor of women's and children's rights. In past reports, UNAMI has noted that sectarian violence has "severely undermined" human rights in Iraq and that there were an increase in allegations of rights violations [JURIST reports] during the first two months of 2006. The UN News Centre has more.

[JURIST] US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [official profile] told the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] Tuesday that President Bush personally put an end to an internal Justice Department investigation into the role DOJ lawyers played in designing the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive]. During a Department of Justice oversight hearing [committee materials], committee chairman Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) asked Gonzales why officials from the DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility [official website] could not obtain necessary security clearances from the NSA. Gonzales told the panel that "the president of the United States makes the decision." DOJ officials said in May that the internal investigation had been dropped [JURIST reports] after OPR was "unable to make meaningful progress" due to having been "denied security clearances for access to information about the NSA program."

The internal probe was launched in February [OPR letter, PDF] to "investigate the Department of Justice's role in authorizing, approving and auditing certain surveillance activities of the National Security Agency, and whether such activities are permissible under existing law." In January, the DOJ's usual internal investigations arm, the Office of the Inspector-General [official website], passed up the opportunity to investigate the Department's role in the spying scandal itself, claiming it had no jurisdiction [JURIST report]. The domestic surveillance program, where the NSA uses warrantless wiretaps to spy on international communications by US residents with known links to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations, first came to light in December 2005. AP has more.

[JURIST] Louisiana officials arrested a doctor and two nurses Monday night in connection with patient deaths at the Memorial Medical Center [hospital website] in New Orleans just after Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] hit last year. Though prosecutors have not formally charged the three - Dr. Anna Pou, Cheri Landry and Laura Bubo - a spokesman for Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti [official website] said Tuesday that they had committed second-degree murder, not "mercy killings."

Last fall, Foti launched an investigation [JURIST report] into the deaths of at least 140 patients at six Louisiana hospitals and 13 nursing homes at the time of Katrina. Foti later subpoenaed 73 Memorial employees [JURIST report] as part of the ongoing investigation, as at least 34 of the patient deaths occurred at Memorial. Prosecutors suspect that the three euthanized the patients while they waited to be rescued. AP has more. From New Orleans, the Times-Picayune has local coverage.

[JURIST] A Dutch court on Monday rejected a request to ban a political party that wants to lower the age of sexual consent from 16 to 12, saying "the freedom to set up a political party" can be viewed as "the basis for a democratic society." Opponents had asked The Hague District Court to bar the Party for Neighborly Love, Freedom, and Diversity (PNVD) [official website, in Dutch; Wikipedia backgrounder], often called the "pedophile" party, from registering for the November national elections, citing a concern that children should not know about the party's main purpose. The PNVD party sparked outrage when it announced its existence in May [BBC report], saying that it also wants to legalize the possession of child pornography.

The PNVD party, which only has three registered members, will not likely win a seat in parliament. Estimates predict that the PNVD party will garner fewer than 1,000 votes in November's elections, and a seat in parliament usually requires around 60,000 votes. In fact, the PNVD party may even fail to obtain the 30 signatures necessary to register for the November elections because pedophiles tend to remain anonymous, and will not want to connect their name to the political party, according to a pedophilia researcher at the Solace Foundation [advocacy website]. AP has more. The Guardian has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The US Senate continues debate Tuesday on embryonic stem cell research [JURIST news archive] funding with a vote set for Tuesday afternoon on the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act [text; HR 810 summary] to provide government funding for stem cell research, despite a definitive statement [PDF text] from the Bush administration that President Bush will veto the bill [Washington Post report]. The administration referred to the bill as "seriously flawed," adding that "destroying nascent human life for research raises serious ethical problems, and many millions of Americans consider the practice immoral." Though the Senate is expected to garner at least 60 votes to pass the legislation, it is not clear whether the Senate will obtain at least 67 votes to override a presidential veto. The House of Representatives passed the measure last May [JURIST report], but fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) [official website] has sought broad Senate support [JURIST report] of the bill, while Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) [official website] facilitated a vote on the bill after a year of inaction.

In a related development, both the House and the Senate will also vote [press release] Tuesday on the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act [S. 2754 summary] sponsored by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) [official website] that will foster stem cell research on stem cells taken from sources other than embryos, and the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act [S.3504 summary] sponsored by Santorum and Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) [official website; press release] that will prohibit "fetal farming," the method of creating fetuses for the sole purpose research. The Bush administration has offered support for both the Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act [PDF text] and the Fetus Farming Act [PDF text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] The War Crimes Chamber of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina [HRW backgrounder] on Monday added war crimes to the charges against Momcilo Mandic, the former Bosnian Serb justice minister in the wartime government under Radovan Karadzic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. Mandic has been charged [press release] under Article 173 of the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina [DOC text] and crimes against humanity pursuant to Article 172. Mandic already faced charges of embezzlement and fraud in connection with his efforts to offer Karadzic financial support while in hiding, but the court added war crimes because Mandic managed the correctional facilities in the Serb-controlled area of Bosnia, which allegedly illegally imprisoned many non-Serbs. Officials arrested Mandic last August [JURIST report].

Karadzic and former army chief Ratko Mladic [ICTY case backgrounder; JURIST news archive] are wanted by the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) [official website] for alleged crimes committed during Bosnia's 1992-95 war, including organizing the 1995 slaughter of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica [JURIST news archive]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A court in Serbia issued a new international arrest warrant Monday for Mirjana Markovic [BBC profile], the wife of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic [JURIST news archive]. The court issued the warrant because Markovic on multiple occasions has failed to appear in court [JURIST report] on abuse of power charges in connection to obtaining a flat for the family nanny. The court also seized the bail money that Markovic's lawyers put forth for Markovic to attend Milosevic's funeral in March, though she did not attend the service. The court withdrew a previous outstanding warrant [JURIST report] at the request of the Socialist Party in March for the funeral proceedings, and then reinstated the arrest warrant [JURIST report] shortly after Milosevic's funeral.

Milosevic died from heart failure [JURIST report] March 11 while his genocide and war crimes trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia [official website] was in its fifth year. He was the first head of state to ever appear before an international war crimes court. AP has more.