[JURIST] The United States Saturday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution [draft text and explanations] condemning an Israeli attack on Beit Hanoun [BBC report] in the Gaza Strip on November 8 that resulted in the deaths of at least 18 civilians and calling on Israel "to scrupulously abide by its obligations and responsibilities under the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949." The same text called on the Palestinian Authority to "take immediate and sustained action to bring an end to violence, including the firing of rockets on Israeli territory" and requested that the UN Secretary-General establish a fact-finding mission to investigate the incident. The Council vote was 10 in favor, 1 against, with the United Kingdom, Denmark, Japan, and Slovakia abstaining. The US delegation said the resolution was one-sided and that Israel had in any event admitted that the attack was a mistake [Haaretz report].

On Friday, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy [official profile] spoke out against what he called Israel's violations of international humanitarian law in the incident in an interview with Egypt's Al-Ahram. Douste-Blazy emphasized that Israel's right to defend itself must comply with the guidelines of international humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention [text] on civilian protection. The International Committee of the Red Cross previously deplored the attack [press release], noting that "[i]nternational humanitarian law strictly prohibits attacks against civilians and civilian objects and requires that a strict distinction be made between the civilian population and military objectives." AFP has more.

[JURIST] The German Defense Ministry [official website] has denied allegations that a suspected al-Qaida operative was beaten while in military custody. German newspaper Die Welt Saturday quoted a Ministry report that 32 operatives of Germany's KSK special forces [Wikipedia backgrounder] in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive] knew that Murat Kurnaz [Amnesty profile] had been arrested by the US military in neighboring Pakistan [JURIST news archive] but that reports of beatings were "not confirmed." Kurnaz, dubbed the "Taliban of Bremen" by German media, was accused by the United States of being an "enemy combatant" and transferred to Kandahar, Afghanistan after his apprehension. The German-born Turk alleges that it he was beaten by five KSK soldiers while in Kandahar. He was released [JURIST report] from Guantanamo Bay prison [JURIST news archive] to German custody in August.

In October, a lawyer for Kurnaz claimed that his client had been beaten [JURIST report] by German soldiers in Afghanistan and that he had been subjected to torture, physical abuse and sexual humiliation by US interrogators while at Guantanamo. Kurnaz, 24, is currently cooperating with investigations by the German parliament and the defense ministry. AFP has more.

[JURIST] A European Parliament lawmaker visiting Poland [JURIST news archive] as a member of a Council of Europe [JURIST news archive] team holding hearings [Polskie Radio report] on that nation's role in the operation of secret CIA prisons [JURIST news archive] complained to journalists Friday about the "reluctance of the government to offer full cooperation to our investigation and to receive our delegation at an appropriate political level." The highest-ranking government official to attend the hearings of a the twelve-member delegation was an aide to the Prime Minister, who lacked the status necessary to answer all the questions presented. Portuguese MEP Carlos Coelho [official website] said he felt "obligated to highlight the difference between the openness and readiness to cooperate we were offered when we went to Romania three weeks ago and what we have experienced during our visit to Poland."

Late last year journalists and rights groups began reporting that the Polish government was not only involved in the CIA program but was running its largest facility [JURIST report]. The Council hearings in Poland, Romania, and other nations are part of a regional investigation into secret prisons run by United States intelligence services and the extent to which they were aided by local governments. In June, investigators released a report implicating Poland, which Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz [official profile] rejected as "libel". The country launched its own investigation in December of 2005, but the probe was dropped within the month [JURIST report] and released no findings. President Bush acknowledged the existence of the secret CIA facilities [JURIST report] in September, but provided no details on their location or operation. Deutsche Welle has more.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official profile] warned [UN press release] on Friday that continued movements by armed militias in the western region of Darfur [JURIST archive] will lead to more atrocities against ethnic African civilians. Arbour cited the attacks of October 29-30 [UN press release; UNHCHR report, PDF] as an example of how armed militias are able to inflict significant casualties on the displaced refugees. In a call for government intervention, Arbour said she was, "concerned that if the Government of Sudan does not take control of the militias, disarm them, and put an end to the proliferation of arms, the militias will continue to launch attacks on civilians."

The May 5 signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement [official text] seems to have done little to curb the violence plaguing the Darfur region. The government of Sudan will not allow a UN peacekeeping force into the region and African Union forces now there may not be able to afford to remain in Sudan in 2007 [EuroNews report]. The Independent has more.

[JURIST] The US Federal Bureau of Prisons [official website] has assigned former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow [JURIST news archive] to a federal detention center in Oakdale, Louisiana [official website], according a new inmate listing on the FBP website. FDC Oakdale is a minimum security facility which already houses convicted former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers [JURIST report].

Fastow was sentenced [JURIST report] on September 26 after pleading guilty [text; PDF] to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and securities. He will serve 6 years. AP has more.

[JURIST] UK Chancellor Gordon Brown [official profile] called for broader race hate laws after a British jury Friday acquitted [JURIST report] two British National Party [official party website] (BNP) members Friday of inciting racial hatred. The charges stemmed from 2004 speeches in West Yorkshire, taped by the BBC, in which BNP leader Nick Griffin [BBC profile] calling Islam a "wicked, vicious faith" and senior aide Mark Collett [Wikipedia profile] referred to those seeking asylum as "a little bit like cockroaches." In February, the two men were cleared of similar charges, but the jury failed to reach a verdict on all charges [BBC report], which led to a second trial [JURIST report].

Also speaking in response to the acquittals, UK Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer told BBC Radio 4: "...we have got to demonstrate without compromising freedom that we are not [anti-Islam]." Liberal Democratic MP Evan Harris [personal website], however, warned that greater legislative restrictions could create "extremist martyrs." The 2006 Racial and Religious Hatred Act [text] makes it an offense to stir up hatred on religious grounds, but prosecutors must prove criminal intent rather than simply "recklessness." BBC News has more.

[JURIST] The United Nations inquiry commission investigating the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive] Friday delivered a revised draft proposal to the Lebanese government on the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the case. The New York Times reported Saturday that the draft suggests that the UN secretary-general, along with the Lebanese government and a selection panel, appoint a tribunal composed of both Lebanese and foreign judges. An earlier October 30 draft excluding Lebanon's participation in appointing judges was met with objections [JURIST report] from Lebanese President Emile Lahoud [official profile]. Friday's draft leaves out a controversial provision for crimes against humanity charges, though it does not resolve questions about the trial's location or about whether implicated Lebanese officials will be granted head-of-state immunity.

Previous reports by the commission [UN materials] implicated Syrian officials [JURIST report] in the assassination, in which an explosion on the Beirut waterfront killed Hariri and 22 others. The UN is authorized to help Lebanon establish a tribunal under UN Security Council Resolution 1644 [text]. The Lebanese government will meet later this month to decide whether to submit the proposal to parliament to be drafted into law. Reuters has more.