[JURIST] Ali Hassan al-Majid [BBC profile], the cousin of Saddam Hussein [JURIST news archive] also known to the Western media as "Chemical Ali," unapologetically admitted in court Sunday that he gave orders for the destruction of dozens Kurdish villages and the relocation of thousands of Kurds in the 1980s. The prosecution in the ongoing genocide trial [JURIST news archive; BBC trial timeline] currently underway before the Iraqi High Tribunal [official website] also introduced evidence [JURIST report] which indicated Saddam's regime's involvement in the slaughter of tens of thousands of Kurds.

Al-Majid is now the leading defendant [JURIST report] in the trial following the December 30 execution [JURIST report] of Saddam Hussein. The six remaining defendants are all former Hussein regime officials and were originally charged with the late dictator in connection with the deaths of some 180,000 Kurds during the so-called "Anfal" campaigns [HRW backgrounder] of the 1980s. AP has more.

[JURIST] An Italian draft law [notes, in Italian] published Friday proposing prison sentences for race-based hate crimes but not making Holocaust denial [JURIST news archive] an explicit crime in itself may complicate a German-initiated move to criminalize such Holocaust denial throughout the European Union. The Italian law, written by Justice Minister Clemente Mastella [official profile], would punish inciting racial hatred with up to four years in jail but does not include Mastella's original proposals [JURIST report] to criminalize Holocaust denial. Earlier this month Germany announced its intent to pursue an EU-wide initiative [JURIST report] banning such denials, which has previously been blocked due to freedom of expression concerns, as part of its platform [PDF text, in German] for the 2007 EU presidency [official website]. The Italian law, which now must be approved by the country's parliament [official website], would be a setback to the German effort, which was already expected to face strong opposition in Britain and other nations. Italy has blocked similar efforts in the past. Reuters has more.

Last week EU Freedom, Security and Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini [official website] urged the 27 EU nations to adopt the German proposals [JURIST report]. Several EU countries have taken steps to criminalize Holocaust denial at the national level: it is currently illegal to deny the Holocaust in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Spain. On Friday the UN General Assembly approved a resolution [press release] condemning denial of the Holocaust. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Civil rights groups have been pushing Democratic lawmakers to reconsider a bill banning racial profiling by any government entity since an airline's decision to remove a group of imams from a flight [Detroit News report] in November. Rep. John Conyers [official website] (D-MI), chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee, and Senator Russ Feingold [official website] (D-WI), who first championed the bill in the last Congress, are the primary advocates [press release] of the proposal. Although no bill has yet to be introduced, Feingold has made it clear that he intends to pursue the legislation in this year's Congressional session.

The original bill [S.2132 text] proposed banning federal, state and local law enforcement officials from "relying to any degree on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion" in any government based investigation unless information exists linking a person of a particular race, ethnicity, national origin or religion to a specific incident or plot. Security-oriented groups, such as 9/11 Families for a Secure America [official website], have also begun mobilization against such a bill. AP has more.

[JURIST] An Israeli parliamentary subcommittee approved day an amendment Saturday that would require Knesset [official website] members to cast open rather than secret ballots in presidential elections. The "Peres law," so called because it would greatly favor presidential candidate Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres' [official profile] chances of winning, was passed by a 7-5 margin. It now must receive a 61-vote majority in the Knesset to pass into law; the vote is not expected to take place this week, reportedly due to Peres-supporter Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's [official profile] reluctance to move forward [Israel National News report] until the bill's odds of passing improve. Supporters point to broad public support of Peres as a candidate and to a general move towards transparency; opponents object to amending a law simply to favor one particular candidate.

The Israeli presidency has recently moved into the spotlight as current president Moshe Katsav [official website; JURIST news archive] faces possible charges of rape, sexual harassment, abuse of power and obstruction of justice [JURIST report]. Last week Katsav was granted a three-month temporary suspension [JURIST report] by the Knesset. Israeli Attorney General Menahem Mazuz [official profile] said that there is enough evidence to indict Katsav but that formal charges will only be made once a hearing is held [Reuters report] in which Katsav will be allowed to present his case. Katsav maintained his innocence on Israeli television last week, claiming these charges are a result of a "vicious campaign by journalists, police and the state prosecution;" his lawyers are expected to receive a draft of the indictment and the prosecutor's investigative material on Sunday. Allegations of foul play have also arisen as the state attorney general's office has been accused of using undue influence to get a statement that led to a rape charge; the Ministry of Justice [official website] denies the charge. Haaretz has more.

[JURIST] The White House plans to tell Congress on Monday that Israel's use of US-made cluster munitions [FAS backgrounder; Cluster Munition Coalition advocacy website] in southern Lebanon last year may have violated several decades-old agreements requiring that the weapons only be used against clearly defined military targets or the Arms Export Control Act [text], which authorizes use of the weapons only for self-defense, the New York Times reported Sunday. The US State Department opened an investigation [JURIST report] into Israel's use of the weapons in August. US officials, however, say it is unlikely that US President George W. Bush will impose sanctions on Israel for such a violation. The State Department's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls [official website] began investigating Israel's use of cluster bombs in Southern Lebanon in August 2006. AFP has more.

In July 2006, Human Rights Watch accused Israel [press release] of using cluster grenades in an attack on a Hezbollah village in south Lebanon, allegations which Israeli officials have denied [JURIST report]. Cluster munitions are considered by many to be inaccurate weapons designed to spread damage indiscriminately and could therefore be considered illegal [backgrounder] under multiple provisions of Protocol I [text] of the Geneva Conventions (1977).

[JURIST] The US Army confirmed Saturday to AP that it has up to 50 criminal investigations underway into alleged frauds involving private contractors running operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. The Pentagon [official website] currently outsources many military tasks from laundry to weapons system repair work, but the military's inability to monitor most contractors has cost the US government millions of dollars. One case involves an Army chief warrant officer who allegedly took a $50,000 bribe to steer a contract for paper products and plastic flatware to a Kuwaiti company.

In August 2006, a US federal judge set aside a $10 million verdict [JURIST reports] against private military contractor Custer Battles [corporate website], ruling that the former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) [official website] in Iraq could not be considered a US government entity. Custer Battles was sued for defrauding the US government under the False Claims Act [text] and a federal jury found the company guilty of 37 fraudulent acts against the CPA, including establishing shell companies, forging invoices, inflating charges, and stealing equipment in an attempt to loot millions of dollars. Earlier this month, Senate Democrats unveiled legislation that would make it easier to prosecute [CongressDaily report] war profiteers. AP has more.

[JURIST] A federal judge held late last week that overcrowded Philadelphia jails violate inmates' constitutional rights and therefore require court monitoring. The ruling from US District Judge R. Barclay Surrick came in response to a lawsuit filed last year by University of Pennsylvania law professor David Rudovsky [faculty profile] on behalf of 11 inmates. In his opinion, Judge Surrick wrote:

The conditions include the failure to provide beds and bedding, the failure to provide material for personal hygiene including soap, warm water, toothpaste, toothbrushes and shower facilities, unsanitary and unavailable toilet facilities, the failure to provide for the medical needs of detainees...