[JURIST] A staff attorney with the US Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps [official website] who was accused in August 2006 of leaking detainee names [JURIST report] while stationed at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] was ordered Monday to face court-martial on charges of leaking secret national defense information to a person outside the government. The complaint against Lt. Cmdr. Matthew M. Diaz does not specify what information was included in the leak, but prior allegations indicate that names and information related to Guantanamo detainees were printed and transmitted to an outside person between December 2004 and March 2005. AP has since forced the Department of Defense to release detainee lists [JURIST report] through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Diaz's Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder] was postponed [JURIST report] in October. His case was cited [Senate RPC briefing paper, PDF] in the Congressional debate over new US military commissions [JURIST news archive] that followed the Supreme Court's June ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld as a cautionary tale suggesting that classified information might not even be safe in the hands of cleared military defense counsel who could turn out to be "ideological attorneys." If convicted, Diaz faces more than 36 years in prison. No trial date has been set. AP has more.

[JURIST] Illegal immigrants in the US who have been arrested and released within US borders appear to exhibit a markedly high rate of reincarceration, according to a report [text, PDF] released by the US Department of Justice [official website] on Monday. The report

...judgmentally selected a sample of 100 criminal histories, which we reviewed for evidence of arrests of criminal aliens subsequent to June 30, 2003. The criminal histories for 73 of the 100 individuals documented at least one arrest after that date. Those 73 individuals accounted for a total of 429 arrests, with 878 charges and 241 convictions. These figures represent an average of nearly six arrests per individual. The charges for the 73 individuals ranged from traffic violations and trespassing to more serious crimes, such as burglary or assault....[I]f this data is indicative of the full population of 262,105 criminal histories, the rate at which released criminal aliens are rearrested is extremely high.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Monday in United Haulers Association v. Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Management Authority [Duke Law case backgrounder] 05-1345, a case concerning whether a local ordinance would violate the Commerce Clause [US Constitution Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 text] by requiring New York trash haulers to deliver all solid wastes to a publicly owned local facility. Lawyers for the trash companies argued that using out-of-state transfer facilities would cost significantly less than the using the county's mandated facilities. Defense lawyers for the government-owned waste management authority countered that the non-discriminatory government operation of the transfer facilities does not benefit a private company and that the ordinance should thus be allowed to stand; the petitioners point out that the county is in fact profiting from the mandate. The US Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled [opinion text, PDF] in favor of the county.

In 1994, the Court held 6-3 in C & A Carbone, Inc. v. Town of Clarkstown [opinion text] that a similar ordinance unconstitutionally restricted interstate commerce; in that instance, the mandated facility was privately owned. The issue now before the court will turn on whether a government-owned facility can be seen as analogous to a profit-seeking private company and thus would be in violation of the Commerce Clause. Five of the six justices who signed the 1994 majority opinion remain on the bench; of the three dissenters, only Justice David Souter remains. AP has more.

[JURIST] A defense lawyer for Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] has said she intends to sue the Iraqi government for allowing the ousted leader to be taunted moments before his execution and for allegedly allowing his body to be abused afterwards. Bushra al-Khalil [profile] told a Saudi newspaper Sunday that she plans to file her action in the International Court of Justice [official website], although she did not offer details. Khalil also said she objected to the reported [Corriere della Sera report] presence at the execution of Shiite leaders Abdel Aziz al-Hakim and Muqtada al-Sadr, personal enemies of Hussein, and said she will push for the exhumation of Saddam's body. Shouts of "Muqtada, Muqtada, Muqtada" were heard on a grainy cell phone camera video shot at the hanging [JURIST report]. Ynet has more.

On the heels of this report new video [WARNING: extremely graphic images] appeared on pro-Hussein websites Monday of what appeared to be Hussein's body on a gurney after execution, showing his neck twisted at a sharp angle and a gaping throat wound one would not immediately associate with a hanging injury. It too seems to have been shot by a cell phone camera; the accompanying audio, with men talking about being in a hurry [Fox translation] as a sheet is pulled off Hussein's head and upper body, suggests that it was shot surreptitiously. AP has more.

The US military in Iraq is currently screening [AFP report] Hussein's books and notes and other personal effects, including his copy of the Koran, from his jail stay before turning them over to his lawyers.

[JURIST] Moroccan-born Mounir al-Motassadeq [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], who was found guilty of assisting the Sept. 11 attacks [JURIST news archive] on the US, was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison by Germany's Federal Constitutional Court [official website, in German; English version]. According to the court, Motassadeq aided the hijackers by funneling money and helping them maintain appearances of being university students. In 2005, a German lower court determined that there was not enough evidence [JURIST report] showing Motassadeq actually knew of the 9/11 plot, but in November 2006 an appeals court overturned the acquittal [JURIST report], finding him guilty of assisting the 9/11 attackers. Motassadeq has admitted to attending an al Qaida training camp in Afghanistan and being friends with some of the Sept. 11 hijackers, but claims he had no knowledge of their plans to carry out the attacks. The court maintained Motassadeq's guilt with his sole knowledge that the accomplices had plans to hijack planes, even if he had no information as to details of the attacks. AP has more.

In October, France sentenced [JURIST report] Moroccan Karim Mehdi to nine years in prison for his connection with the 9/11 attacks. Zacarias Moussaoui [JURIST news archive], the only 9/11 conspirator to stand trial in the US, pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in April 2005 to conspiracy charges and was sentenced to life in prison [JURIST report] last May after one juror refused to agree to the death penalty [JURIST report]. In April 2006, the Spanish Supreme Court [official website] overturned the convictions of three men found guilty [JURIST report; verdict, PDF] of collaborating with or belonging to al Qaeda in connection with the Sept. 11 plot. The trial drew widespread criticism, with many accusations that the suspects were simply Islamic fanatics with no real connection to the terrorist attacks [CSM report; BBC report].

[JURIST] The White House said Monday that President Bush intends to nominate [announcement] Zalmay Khalilzad [official profile], current US ambassador to Iraq, to serve as the next US ambassador to the UN [mission website]. Rumors of the personnel change first circulated last week and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice formally announced Khalilzad's pending nomination [statement] Monday. Prior to being appointed to his current position by President Bush in April 2005, Khalilzad served as ambassador to Afghanistan.

Khalilzad will replace Acting US Representative to the UN Alejandro D. Wolff [official profile], who replaced John Bolton [official profile] when Bolton resigned [JURIST report] last month from his temporary appointment following the Senate's failure to confirm his re-appointment. President Bush will nominate Ryan Crocker to replace Khalilzad as ambassador to Iraq. AP has more.

[JURIST] The 100-member Constitution Drafting Council in Thailand [JURIST news archive] moved a key step closer to its goal of presenting a new constitution for the country within the next six months Monday by electing professor Noranit Setabutr [profile] to serve as its chairman, pending his approval by Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej [official profile]. Whatever document the Council eventually agrees upon will need to approved via referendum.

The Royal Thai Army [official website] seized power from former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra [JURIST news archive] in a bloodless coup [JURIST report] in September leading to the imposition of martial law [JURIST news archive]. Thai Army Commander-in-Chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin [BBC profile] said December 20 that martial law will remain in force in 35 of Thailand's 76 provinces. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The war crimes trial of former Rwandan colonel and prefect of Rwanda's capital city Tharcisse Renzaho [ICTR case file] began [press release] Monday at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) [official website; JURIST news archive]. Renzaho faces charges [indictment, PDF] of genocide, complicity in genocide, and murder as a crime against humanity in connection with the 1994 Rwandan genocide [HRW backgrounder; BBC backgrounder]. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

Prosecutors claim Renzaho actively participated in and encouraged the murder of Tutsis [Wikipedia backgrounder], as well as the rape of Tutsi women. The 1994 Rwandan genocide resulted in the deaths of over 800,000 people. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged the Iraqi government [statement] on Monday not to carry out the anticipated executions [JURIST report] of two of Saddam Hussein's co-defendants, saying that if the executions are carried out, they will further demonstrate Iraq's disregard for human rights and the rule of law in the wake of the December 30 hanging [JURIST report] of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive]. Former chief judge of Iraq's Hussein-era Revolutionary Court Awad Hamed al-Bandar [Wikipedia profile] and former Iraqi intelligence chief Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti [GlobalSecurity profile; BBC profile] are scheduled to be hanged later this week, after being postponed [JURIST] last Thursday as a result of "international pressure."

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [BBC profile] has defended the conduct of Saddam's hanging and plans for his co-defendants' execution, even in the face of a last appeal Saturday by new UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who released a statement [text] "strongly [urging] the Government of Iraq to grant a stay of execution to those whose death sentences may be carried out in the near future." AP has more.

[JURIST] A federal judge has ruled that a former terrorist suspect can sue a county in Detroit for alleged abuse while he was in jail. Karim Koubriti, a Moroccan national, was convicted in 2003 of document fraud and conspiracy to aid terrorists after he and three others were accused [indictment, PDF] of establishing a terrorist "sleeper cell" in Detroit [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The convictions were later overturned [JURIST report] after the US Department of Justice [official website] agreed [JURIST report] that federal prosecutors were not forthcoming with evidence [JURIST report] which would have benefited Koubriti and his co-defendants.

Koubriti has alleged that he was unnecessarily strip searched, denied exercise, and isolated for 23 hours a day during his three years in the Wayne County, Michigan jail [official website]. US District Judge Bernard Friedman [official profile] rejected the county's bid to dismiss Koubriti's lawsuit last week but no trial date has yet been scheduled. Meanwhile, the US government is working to retry Koubriti on insurance fraud charges. AP has more. The Detroit Free Press has local coverage.

[JURIST] The chief judge presiding over the genocide trial [JURIST news archive; BBC trial timeline] against Saddam Hussein for the deaths of 180,000 Kurds during the so-called "Anfal" campaigns [HRW backgrounder] dropped all charges against the former dictator as the trial reconvened Monday, saying Hussein's death was "confirmed." The court's decision came nine days after Hussein's execution [JURIST report], which prompted international objections [JURIST report] to the manner in which his hanging was carried out, including recording of the process by an unofficial video [WARNING: graphic images; JURIST report] with a camera phone and the taunting [JURIST report] of Hussein before his death.

Hussein's six co-defendants, leaders in his former regime, still face crimes against humanity charges in connection with the Anfal attacks during the Iraq-Iran war in the 1980s. Not guilty pleas [JURIST report] have been entered for all defendants. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Ontario Court of Appeal [official website] has ruled [judgment, PDF] that a Canadian child can legally have three parents - two mothers and a father. The case before the court involved a lesbian couple, together since 1990, one of whom was the biological mother of the five-year-old child, and a biological father who was listed on the child's birth certificate. All three individuals were active in the child's life and the women were not simply willing to adopt the boy because it would mean the father would lose his legal status as a parent. Ontario Justice Marc Rosenberg [official profile] said depriving all three from legal parental roles would be "contrary to (the child's) best interests" and stressed the importance of giving the non-biological mother authority to make decisions for the child in the event of the biological mother's death.

The court's landmark decision last week was met with criticism by the Institute for Canadian Values (ICV) [advocacy website], an opponent of same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive], which was legalized in Ontario in 2003 and in all of Canada in 2005. ICV Executive Director Joseph Ben-Ami released a statement [text] calling the ruling "unnecessary" and an act of "naked judicial activism." Reuters has more.