[JURIST] German president Horst Koehler [official website, in German] has refused to grant a plea for clemency from an imprisoned former terrorist, his office said Monday. Christian Klar [Wikipedia profile], eligible for parole in 2009, was a member of the Red Army Faction [Wikipedia backgrounder], commonly known as the Baader-Meinhof gang, a radical leftist group that killed 34 people before disbanding in 1998. Klar was convicted of invlolvement in numerous murders, including those of chief West German federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback and the head of the Dresdner Bank, Juergen Ponto. Koehler said he discussed the matter extensively with prosecutors and victims' families, and met with Klar himself, before reaching his decision.

Koehler also rejected a clemency plea from Baader-Meinhof member Birgit Hogefeld [Wikipedia profile], who was convicted for the 1985 killing of a US soldier. The gang later used the soldier's stolen ID card to drive a car filled with explosives onto a US military base, where the explosion killed two Americans. In February, a German state court granted parole [JURIST report] to another former Baader-Meinhof member Brigitte Mohnhaupt [Wikipedia profile], after she had served 24 years in prison. The court did not grant Mohnhaupt a pardon, but found that she no longer posed a security risk. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) will not try to block Congress's decision to grant immunity to former DOJ official Monica Goodling [JURIST news archive] to testify about the firing of eight US Attorneys [JURIST news archive], according to Monday reports. In a letter [text] to House Judiciary Committee [official website] Chairman John Conyers, Inspector General Glenn Fine and counsel to the Office of Professional Responsibility H. Marshall Jarrett [official profiles] said that while they would prefer that Goodling not receive immunity, they will not object to the panel's decision. Both the Inspector General and the Office of Professional Responsibility are investigating whether Goodling, who is the former special counsel to US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, violated federal law by considering the political affiliations of US Attorneys in making firing decisions. AP has more.

Goodling told the committee in March that she would not speak to the committee about her role in the firings [JURIST report], and stated through her lawyer, John Dowd, that she would seek protection under her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination if the committee issued her a subpoena. She resigned [JURIST report] from her position at the Justice Department last month. The House Judiciary Committee voted to give Goodling immunity [JURIST report] in exchange for her testimony in late April.

[JURIST] Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed [Wikipedia profile] arrived in Bangladesh Monday after the government last week lifted a ban [JURIST report] against her returning to the country. When asked if she feared arrest on her return, Hasina described her brief exile to supporters as a "mistake" and said the government would not "repeat" it. Hasina and her rival, former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia [Virtualbangladesh profile], were both exiled [JURIST report] by President Iajuddin Ahmed's interim government to avoid the public disorder that often accompanied clashes between supporters of the two rivals.

Hasina was charged [JURIST report] in absentia last month with four counts of murder arising from the deaths of four protesters during political turmoil in Bangladesh [JURIST news archive] in October. An arrest warrant was later issued for Hasina, but was suspended [JURIST reports]. Ahmed declared a state of emergency [JURIST report] on January 11 and later indefinitely postponed elections scheduled for January 22 after the collapse of a caretaker government in the face of violent protests over election procedures. In the wake of the emergency declaration, Bangladeshi authorities detained over 2,500 people [JURIST report] and have raided the homes of several political leaders, making multiple arrests [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Gen. David Petraeus [official profile], the top commanding officer of US troops in Iraq, told a gathering of reporters Monday that he was "greatly concerned" by a survey [text; JURIST report] released by the Pentagon Friday that revealed many US troops in Iraq felt that Iraqi civilians did not deserve to be treated "with respect and dignity," that torture was acceptable to save the lives of fellow soldiers, and that they would not report a fellow soldier for wounding or killing a civilian. Petraeus said he was drafting a memo to look for ways to anticipate and prevent future abuses. Petraeus said he will deliver a report to President Bush in the next two weeks on the direction of the US effort in Iraq and how to retake Baghdad from extremist camps. AP has more.

The Pentagon survey found that a significant percentage of soldiers approve of abusing and even torturing Iraqi non-combatants. According to the survey, "only 47 percent of soldiers and 38 percent of Marines agreed that non-combatants should be treated with dignity and respect. More than one-third of all soldiers and Marines reported that torture should be allowed to save the life of a fellow soldier or Marine" or to obtain important information about insurgents. The survey also found that "10 percent of soldiers and Marines reported mistreating noncombatants or damaging property when it was not necessary" and that "less than half of soldiers or Marines said they would report a team member for unethical behavior."

[JURIST] Indonesian prosecutors registered their appeal Monday against the acquittal [verdict transcript, PDF; JURIST report] of American Richard Ness [defense website], the regional chief executive of Denver-based Newmont Mining Corporation [corporate website; JURIST news archive], and Newmont's local subsidiary on criminal pollution charges [JURIST report]. An Indonesian court acquitted Ness and Newmont last month and after registering the appeal, prosecutors now have an additional two weeks to specify the grounds for appeal.

Ness and Newmont were accused of dumping arsenic and mercury into the waters of Indonesia's Buyat Bay. Prosecutors had requested a three-year prison term [JURIST report] for Ness and $110,000 fine against Newmont. Newmont settled a civil suit [JURIST report] brought by the Indonesian government last year. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The Pakistan Supreme Court [official website] on Monday suspended an investigation into misconduct charges against Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive]. Pakistan's Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) [governing constitutional provisions] has been conducting an inquiry into Chaudhry's alleged misconduct, but Chaudhry appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the SJC lacked competence to try him. Chaudhry's lawyer told AFP Monday that the court decided that the case should instead be heard by the full Supreme Court. The high court will begin considering Chaudhry's suspension May 8. AFP has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

Chaudhry was technically made "non-functional" [JURIST report] by a March 9 order of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. No specifics were provided at the time of his suspension but documents subsequently disclosed [JURIST report] suggest he was officially removed on suspicion of misusing his influence to get his son jobs and promotions. Lawyers and opposition leaders critical of the move say, however, that the suspension was an assault on the independence of the country's judiciary and an indirect bid by Musharraf to continue his eight-year rule in an election year.

[JURIST] A defense lawyer for former Liberian President Charles Taylor [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] told the Special Court for Sierra Leone [official website] Monday that potential defense witnesses are refusing to testify for the defense because they fear the possibility of UN-imposed sanctions. Lawyer Karim Khan told the court he planned to file a motion asking the court to grant witnesses protection from sanctions, including travel bans and the freezing of assets. Khan also said that the court has not provided enough funding to assemble an adequate defense team for Taylor; the prosecution's legal team is twice the size of Taylor's defense team.

Taylor's trial is scheduled to start in The Hague on June 4. The court has already delayed the trial [order, PDF] to allow the defense more time to prepare, but Taylor's lawyers still seek additional time. Taylor was indicted [amended indictment text, PDF; SCSL materials] in 2003 on charges of crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law, including murder, rape and the recruitment and use of child soldiers during the war in Sierra Leone. After being captured last year trying to flee Nigeria, where he had been in exile, he was taken to The Hague [JURIST report] to await trial. AP has more.

[JURIST] The convincing victory of conservative French Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy [campaign website, in French; JURIST news archive] over Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal [campaign website, in French] in the French presidential run-off election Sunday means that the incoming French president will have the chance to implement a series of tough-minded legal reforms he touted during his campaign. Stiffer sentences for criminal offenders and stricter immigration rules, especially on family reunification, will come on the French political agenda in ten days when Sarkozy takes over from current French President Jacques Chirac [official website]. Sarkozy won the run-off with a winning margin of 53.06 percent [official results] on an 85% voter turnout. The New York Times has more.

The son of a Hungarian refugee who worked his way up through the political ranks, Sarkozy gained widespread attention and in some quarters notoriety with his firm response to the rioting that rocked the immigrant-dominated Paris suburbs [JURIST news archive] in late 2005. As Interior Minister, Sarkozy also supported expelling immigrants who do not make efforts to integrate and seek work [JURIST report], rooting out juvenile delinquency by depriving "negligent" parents of some state support [JURIST report], banning anyone other than professional reporters from filming or broadcasting acts of violence [JURIST report], deporting radical Muslim clerics [JURIST report], and generally toughening France's anti-terror laws [JURIST report]. Sarkozy also supports adopting a limited version of the controversial European constitution [JURIST report] rejected by French voters in 2005.

Last fall top members of the French judiciary asked Chirac to rein in Sarkozy [JURIST report] after he made allegedly derogatory comments about the courts in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburb of Paris, a flashpoint for last year's riots, saying "I would like to know how we are supposed to prevent a criminal from offending again if we do not have the courage to put them in prison." Judge Guy Canivet, head of the Cour de Cassation [official website, in French], and Renaud Chazal de Mauriac, head of the Paris Court of Appeal, urged Chirac to "expose the seriousness of these repeated attacks on the separation of powers laid out in the Constitution." The High Council of the Magistrature [official website] had previously written to Chirac criticizing other incendiary remarks by the Sarkozy. Chirac did not censure Sarkozy publicly but did praise the judiciary, emphasizing the importance of "high standards regarding the independence of judges."

[JURIST] The Turkish parliament opened debate Monday on an amendment to the Turkish constitution [text] that would see the country's president elected by a popular vote rather than by members of parliament, as is current practice. The move comes the day after sole presidential candidate Abdullah Gul [official website; JURIST news archive], currently Turkey's foreign minister, ended his candidacy [AP report] when opposition lawmakers refused to participate in a second parliamentary vote. Gul did not say if he might run in a general election. The first round of presidential balloting [JURIST report], held late last month, was annulled [JURIST report] by the country's Constitutional Court because a two-thirds quorum of legislators did not participate in the vote as required by the constitution.

The ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) [party website, in Turkish; Wikipedia backgrounder] said last week it would push for constitutional amendments [JURIST report] to change Turkey's system for electing the president. Gul's candidacy has been opposed by the Republican People's Party (CHP) [Wikipedia backgrounder] and the military over concerns that Gul would not be entirely secular. Gul said Sunday that the deadlock in parliament meant that the Turkish people should elect the new president directly. In addition to requiring a popular vote in presidential elections, the constitutional amendment being debated would shorten the presidential term from seven to five years, would allow presidents to serve multiple terms, would set the quorum for a vote to pass legislation in parliament at 184, and would mandate that general elections be held every four years, instead of the current five-year requirement. Parliamentary elections are currently set for July 22, and if the constitutional amendment is passed, presidential elections could be held at the same time. AP has more.