[JURIST] Prosecutors in the ongoing genocide trial [JURIST news archive; BBC trial timeline] of Saddam-era officials before the Iraqi High Tribunal [official website] introduced a videotape Sunday of executions and destruction of Kurdish homes during the "Anfal" campaigns [HRW backgrounder; JURIST news archive] of the 1980s, which claimed an estimated 180,000 Kurdish lives. Chief prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon said the video illustrated that Iraqi soldiers were not merely acting to suppress Kurdish rebels and that their conduct was not justified. The video showed executions and an Iraqi soldier firing his gun at dead bodies.

Testifying Sunday, former defense minister Sultan al-Tai said that the government compensated the Kurds who lost their homes during the campaign, and reiterated that he acted under military orders throughout his own involvement. In December al-Tai testified that only conventional weaponry was used [JURIST report] against the Kurds, and that any action he took was by order of his superiors. Al-Tai is one of six co-defendants facing crimes against humanity charges in connection with the Anfal attacks; Ali Hassan al-Majid [JURIST news archive, BBC profile], known in the Western media as 'Chemical Ali,' is now the leading defendant [JURIST report] in the trial following the December 30 execution [JURIST report] of Saddam Hussein. AP has more.

[JURIST] Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged the Iraqi High Tribunal (IHT) [official website; HRW backgrounder] Sunday to spare the life of former Iraqi Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive] citing a lack of evidence tying him to the 1982 Dujail killings for which he is charged. The court reconvenes [JURIST report] on Monday to determine whether Ramadan's life sentence should be abandoned in favor of the death penalty.

Ramadan was convicted [JURIST report; BBC verdict summary] in November in connection with crimes against humanity committed in the town of Dujail in 1982. The IHT Appeals Chamber ruled December 26 in its decision upholding Saddam Hussein's death sentence [JURIST report; JURIST news archive] that the life sentence for Ramadan was too lenient and ordered the trial court to re-sentence him. On Thursday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour filed an amicus brief [JURIST report] with the court arguing that imposing the death penalty would be a violation of Iraq's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A referendum on Portugal's strict abortion laws indicated Sunday that a majority of voters support loosening the current law [text, in Portuguese], but turnout was likely too low [AP report] to give the decision legal force. Exit polls from Radiotelevisao Portuguesa [network website, in Portuguese] showed that between 57 and 61 percent of voters would legalize abortion up until the 10th week of pregnancy for all women, but only 34-40 percent of the 8.7 million eligible voters took part amidst rainy weather conditions. At least 50% of the voting population must participate for the referendum to be legally binding. The Socialist government, which proposed [press release, in Portuguese; JURIST report] the idea last September, has said that it may act on the result even without a majority turnout.

The Portuguese Parliament [official website, in Portuguese] approved [JURIST report] the national referendum in October. The current law only permits an abortion up until the 12th week of pregnancy in cases of risk to the mother's health, until the 16th week in cases of rape, and up to the 24th week in cases of fetal malformation. Opponents of the change, led by a Roman Catholic Church which counts 90% of the country as members, protested in the streets [JURIST report] of Lisbon last month. Supporters say that the law unfairly targets the poor, as wealthier women can travel to Spain and other countries to obtain the procedure. Abortion rights groups estimate that approximately 10,000 Portuguese women are hospitalized each year from complications to failed backstreet procedures; an estimated 23,000 illegal abortions are performed in Portugal annually.

Portugal has made several unsuccessful attempts in the last 10 years to ease restrictions on abortion. In 1998, a referendum on legalizing abortion was declared void due to low voter turnout, yet there was a slight majority voting against the referendum. A second referendum was proposed in November, 2005, but the country's Constitutional Court held that the vote could not be held [JURIST report] before September of this year, because the same referendum had been rejected in current legislature by the now-former president. Reuters has more. The Financial Times has additional coverage.

[JURIST] European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso [JURIST news archive; official website] urged swift resolution on the issue of the European constitution [JURIST news archive; text] at a press conference with Polish President Lech Kaczynski [official website, in Polish] Saturday. Barroso said, "We are not credible when we say that we try to speak with one voice to third parties and go on speaking with 27 voices inside the European Union." Kaczynski, for his part, promised that Poland would play an active role in moving forward with the constitutional treaty. Consideration of the charter has been on hold since it was rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands [JURIST reports] in 2005. Poland has previously shown a reluctance to expedite the integration process.

Germany assumed the six-month EU Presidency on January 1, 2007; German Chancellor Angela Merkel [official website, in German; BBC profile] has promised to put the constitution back on the EU agenda [JURIST report] and encouraged EU member nations to ratify the charter [JURIST report; speech transcript, in German] before the next round of European Parliament elections scheduled for June 2009. Proponents of the proposed constitution, including Denmark, Finland [JURIST reports], and over a dozen others [EU interactive map], point to the clear demarcation of the powers of the Union and member states and efficient transnational government. Of the countries that have ratified the constitution, most hope it will be saved without major changes. Some countries that have delayed ratification would rather that the treaty not be revived at all. The EU constitution requires ratification by all member states before it can take effect. Xinhua has more.