[JURIST] The US House of Representatives passed two resolutions Tuesday intended to speed up the House's internal investigation of Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA) [official website; JURIST news archive], who was indicted [JURIST report] this week for allegedly accepting $500,000 in bribes. John Boehner (R-OH) proposed a resolution [H Res 452 materials] requiring the House Ethics Committee [official website] to report on whether the charges against Jefferson are severe enough that they would justify expelling him from Congress. The resolution passed 373-26 [roll call]. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MA) introduced a second resolution [H Res 451 materials] that requires the ethics committee to convene a panel within 30 days of the indictment of any House member. The resolution passed 387-10 [roll call].

Jefferson was indicted Monday on 16 counts, including charges of bribery, racketeering, money laundering, and obstruction of justice. He allegedly solicited bribes from numerous companies both in the US and in Africa, setting up a fake company to launder the money. Due to the international nature of the alleged acts, Jefferson is facing charges under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act [DOJ materials], and, if convicted on all counts, faces up to 235 years in prison. AP has more.

[JURIST] The government of Myanmar [JURIST news archive] announced plans Tuesday to reconvene negotiations on a new constitution [JURIST news archive] for a final session next month. The national constitutional drafting convention, tasked with creating guidelines for a more democratic constitution, has been on hold since December 2006. The country's military regime announced the plan after being criticized by the West [JURIST report] for its political practices and continued house arrest of pro-democratic leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi [advocacy website]. The acting prime minister, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein [Wikipedia profile], said the constitutional convention is scheduled to resume on July 18.

Critics contend the convention may be for show as delegates are all chosen by the government, which also retains the decisive vote on any guidelines the convention creates. In addition, democracy advocate Suu Kyi remains under house arrest. Suu Kyi has spent 11 of the past 17 years in prison or under house arrest for alleged violations of an anti-subversion law [text]. AP has more.

[JURIST] A US federal judge extended a temporary restraining order Tuesday, blocking the Texas town of Farmers Branch [official website; JURIST news archive], a suburb of Dallas, from enforcing a law that would bar landlords from renting apartments to most illegal immigrants. The restraining order will be in effect until June 19, when Judge Sam Lindsay plans to rule on whether the ordinance can be enforced while legal challenges are underway. The city ordinance [DOC text] requires apartment renters to show proof of US residency and penalizes landlords who rent to illegal immigrants [JURIST news archive]. Landlords who do not comply with the law will face fines up to $500. The ordinance does not require minors and tenants who are 62 years of age and older to prove their immigration status, and allows lease renewals if the renters are currently tenants, the head of household or spouse is in the US legally, and the family includes only the spouse, their minor children or parents. The ordinance was approved by voters [JURIST report], but Lindsay first issued a temporary restraining order [PDF text; JURIST report] the day before the law was set to take effect.

The ordinance is a revision of an earlier ordinance that was set to take effect in January [JURIST reports]. In December 2006, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and ACLU of Texas [advocacy websites] sued [JURIST report] to stop the city from implementing the first ordinance, alleging that federal immigration law preempts state and local ordinances aimed at regulating immigration, and that the law as drafted was impermissibly vague. In response to the lawsuit, a judge issued a temporary restraining order [JURIST report] against enforcing the act in January 2007. The same month, the City Council voted to revise the ordinance to include exceptions for minor children and seniors. MALDEF and the ACLU-Texas are continuing with their earlier lawsuit and city lawyers admitted during a Tuesday hearing that the ordinance still suffered from some "drafting issues," but outlined how those could be fixed if the court were to invalidate certain portions of the ordinance. AP has more.

[JURIST] A German state court Tuesday upheld a ban on religious headscarves [JURIST news archive] in public schools and affirmed the right of a school not to employ a teacher who said she would be unable to follow that law. The teacher argued the law was discriminatory and violated religious freedom. In upholding the law and finding the headscarf to be a sign of religious belief, the North Rhine-Westphalia court said that the ban ensured state neutrality toward the religions of students and parents.

Numerous German states, as well as various countries around Europe, have considered headscarf bans over the last several years. Last July, a court in the German state of Baden-Wuerttember threw out a 2004 ban [JURIST report], ruling it was being applied in a discriminatory manner [JURIST report] to Muslim women but not Catholic nuns. In January, the Constitutional Court of the German state of Bavaria upheld [JURIST report] a headscarf ban there. AP has more.

[JURIST] Three relatives [CI Centre backgrounder] of a Chinese-American engineer convicted [BBC report] earlier this year of conspiring to smuggle sensitive naval intelligence data to China [JURIST news archive] have pleaded guilty to related charges as part of a plea agreement [New York Sun report]. Appearing before a judge of the US District Court for the Central District of California [official website], Tai Mak, brother of former Power Paragon [corporate website] engineer Chi Mak, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate defense-related export controls, charges which could land him up to 10 years in prison. Tai's wife Fuk Li and son Billy Mak each pleaded guilty to a single charge of aiding and abetting an export violation, which would result in sentences of probation and time served respectively. The three are expected to be sentenced between end-September and the beginning of October.

Chi Mak, whose trial was earlier this year [JURIST report], was convicted in May for conspiring to commit espionage, acting as a foreign agent, and making false statements to federal agents. He stole computer documents from his employer, and gave them to Tai Mak, who tried to take them to China before being arrested at Los Angeles International Airport. Chi faces up to 45 years in prison and will be sentenced September 10. The Los Angeles Times has more. AFP has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Thailand's interim-government [JURIST report] Monday lifted a ban on political activities that had been in place since the 2006 bloodless coup [JURIST report], which will allow the dissolved [JURIST report] political party Thai Rak Thai (TRT) [official website, in Thai] to reform. The ban, which was lifted by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont [official website; BBC profile] and his cabinet, will have to be backed by legislation passed in the National Assembly of Thailand [official website, in Thai] that will resume the registration of new political parties. Thailand's Council of State [official website, in Thai], which considers and prepares draft legislation, is expected to present a proposal to the cabinet and national assembly next week.

Demonstrators gathered last Friday to protest [JURIST report] the order by the Constitutional Court dissolving Thai Rak Thai. The order also banned former Prime Minister Thaksin Sinawatra [BBC profile] and 11 other TRT officials from holding political offices for five years. Also on Friday, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin [BBC profile], the leader of the coup, said on state television that he backed an amnesty [JURIST report] for the banned officials. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The Durban High Court in South Africa [JURIST news archive] granted an execution order Tuesday allowing the country's National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) [official website] to seek documents obtained by the Mauritius government [official website] which are believed to evidence meetings between former South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma [party profile; advocacy website] and arms manufacturer Thint. Prosecutors are considering charging Zuma with corruption for allegedly receiving bribes from Thint, a subsidiary of the France-based Thales Group [corporate website], but have not yet decided to do so [NPA press release, DOC].

In April, the court approved a letter of request [opinion, PDF; JURIST report] seeking documents from Mauritius, but Zuma appealed that ruling. The South African Supreme Court of Appeals is expected to hear arguments for the appeal in September. In Tuesday's ruling, the court said that there is no reason why the documents could not be obtained now, before the appeal is heard, and kept under lock and key pending the outcome of the decision. Zuma argues that there is no reason to request the documents [SABC report] until after the appeal is finalized. While the NPA currently holds copies of the documents, they now seek the originals. South Africa's Mail & Guardian has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Karunakaran Kandasamy, the alleged director of the American branch of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) [CFR backgrounder], and four other defendants pleaded not in US federal court guilty Monday to charges [press release] of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and bribing public officials. Kandasamy, who was arrested on April 25, allegedly headed the LTTE's efforts to draw on the United States' "financial resources and technological advances to advance its war of terror in Sri Lanka and elsewhere." If convicted, Kandasamy faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The joint investigation, which was conducted by the FBI and the New York and Newark Divisions of the US Departtment of Justice Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), and other agencies and foreign governments, found that Kandasamy allegedly held fundraising events through a front organization called the World Tamil Coordinating Committee (WTCC) [advocacy website] at a church and a public high school in Queens, New York between November and December 2004. Kandasamy is also accused of arranging meetings in Sri Lanka [JURIST news archive] between LTTE leaders and LTTE supporters from the United States. The LTTE, often called the "Tamil Tigers," have carried out suicide bombings and assassinations in Sri Lanka and elsewhere in the world as part of an effort to establish an independent state in Sri Lanka. Prosecutors allege in the complaint that more than 4,000 people have been killed in the past 15 months in the escalating conflict between the LTTE and Sri Lanka. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] US District Judge Reggie B. Walton [official profile] sentenced former vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby [defense website; JURIST news archive] to 30 months in prison Tuesday for his conviction [JURIST report] on two counts of perjury, one count of lying to the FBI and one count of obstruction of justice. Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald [official website] had urged that Libby be sentenced to up to three years [JURIST report] for blocking the investigation into the Valerie Plame CIA leak case [JURIST news archive]. Libby's lawyers cited his many years of public service when asking Walton for probation. In addition to the jail time, Libby was also fined $250,000. AP has more.

Walton is expected to release more than 150 letters [JURIST report] he has received in connection to Libby's sentencing. Libby has opposed the release of the letters, saying that the writers did not intend for them to become public. In April, Libby filed documents in court indicating his intention to appeal the conviction [JURIST report]. Libby's appeal may focus on a decision by Walton to allow prosecutors to present evidence to the jury that Libby's defense viewed as being prejudicial, such as White House briefing room videos [JURIST report] which Fitzgerald played to show Libby's eagerness to publicly conceal conversations he had with reporters about Plame.

[JURIST] Pakistani police Tuesday issued a "preliminary complaint" against approximately 200 journalists, opposition party members and pro-democracy activists who demonstrated outside the Pakistan parliament building Monday evening protesting an emergency media ordinance in defiance of a government ban on unauthorized rallies [JURIST report] issued late last week by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf [official website]. The ordinance gave the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PMRA) [official website] authority to suspend broadcasting licenses of radio and television stations found to violate the law and allowed authorities to physically seal the stations' facilities and increases the fines for violations from $16,665 to $166,650. AP has more.

Also Monday, opposition members and police officials confirmed the detention of more than 60 activists so as to prevent alleged "law-and-order problems." Media outlets have complained of growing government pressure [JURIST report] not to provide live coverage of rallies in support of suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry [official website; JURIST news archive]. Many Pakistani lawyers and opposition leaders believe Chaudhry's suspension to be 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. AP has more.

[JURIST] Chilean President Michelle Bachelet [official website] urged members of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website; JURIST news archive] to adopt measures to ensure the independence of UNHRC investigators [press release, in Spanish]. Speaking during a special UNHRC session, Bachelet appealed to the 47 member countries to pass agendas and organization rules in the UNHRC's upcoming 5th session [UN materials] that will allow independent experts and NGOs to participate in regular reviews of human rights in various countries. Bachelet's proposal is opposed by many countries that have sought to impose a "code of conduct" upon the human rights body's investigators. Member states have also sought to elect members of fact-finding missions rather than have members appointed by the council's president. Both proposals face criticisms from human rights groups who say that such measures will infringe upon the independence of the investigators.

In May, the UNHRC elected [official results; JURIST report] Angola, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Madagascar, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Qatar, Slovenia, South Africa to three-year terms on the council, which was established last year to replace the UN Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission was often criticized for allowing the membership of states that have committed serious human rights violations. Those states often would create informal alliances preventing the commission from investigating or condemning human rights violations. AP has more.

[JURIST] Nine suspects were arrested and charged [press release, PDF] Monday in the US Eastern District of California for allegedly plotting the violent overthrow of the Laotian government. The suspects, including General Vang Pao, a former general in the Royal Lao Army, and Harrison Jack, a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point and a retired Lt. Col. of the California National Guard, are accused of violating the Neutrality Act, which prohibits individuals from using the United States as a "safe harbor" to plot the overthrow of a government that is at peace with the United States. The criminal complaint [PDF text] alleges that the defendants sought to acquire "hundreds of AK-47 automatic rifles, Stinger missiles, AT-4 anti-tank missiles" and other munitions to support a "Hmong insurgency." All nine defendants face a maximum of life in imprisonment plus 38 years. Six defendants face an additional minimum sentence of 25 years to life and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for conspiring to "receive and possess the Stinger missiles."

The charges follow a six-month joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) [official websites] and the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF). The Hmong are an ethnic minority residing in China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar. They were heavily recruited by the CIA [CIA backgrounder] during the 1955-1974 "Secret War" to counter the Laotian communist government. AP has more.

[JURIST] Daniel McGowan [defense website] was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday after pleading guilty [JURIST report] last year to ecoterrorism charges, including participation in a criminal conspiracy and two counts of arson. McGowan was among ten defendants who pleaded guilty for their roles in a streak of environmentally motivated arsons by the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front [advocacy websites] over the course of five years. Nine of those defendants have been sentenced.

According to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, the defendants were part of a cell of "underground groups" [press release] that "sought to influence and affect the conduct of government, private business, and the civilian population through force, violence, sabotage, mass destruction, intimidation and coercion, and to retaliate against government and private businesses by similar means." In May 2005, a top FBI official testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that violent environmental and animal rights groups are the nation's top domestic terror threat [testimony transcript; JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] US Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred, the judge presiding over military commission proceedings against Yemeni Guantanamo Bay detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive] Monday dismissed [PDF text] all charges [JURIST report; charge sheet, PDF] against Hamdan, citing a lack of jurisdiction and echoing another judge's dismissal of charges [JURIST report] against Canadian detainee Omar Khadr [Trial Watch profile; JURIST news archive] earlier in the day. Both judges found that the detainees could not currently be tried as "unlawful enemy combatants" under the Military Commission Act of 2006 (MCA) [PDF text]. Hamdan and Khadr were designated "enemy combatants" by Combatant Status Review Tribunals [DOD materials] at Guantanamo, not "unlawful enemy combatants."

A White House spokesperson said Monday that the administration disagreed with the rulings [Reuters report], but said that the decisions reflect that great efforts are being taken to ensure that the Guantanamo commissions comply with the law. Military prosecutors in both cases have said they intended to appeal the decisions, and Army Maj. Beth Kubala, spokesperson for the Office of Military Commissions (OMC), said [AFPS report] that the "OMC will continue to operate in a manner that's fair, transparent, open and legitimate," characterizing the dismissals as an indication of the military commission's independence.

In August 2005, Hamdan challenged [JURIST report] the legality of his pending trial before the US Supreme Court, arguing [JURIST report] that the then-existing commission system set up by presidential order was unfair because it allowed the executive's military subordinates to determine who will act as judge and jury and also decide which crimes would be prosecuted. The court ruled [JURIST report] in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld [PDF text] that the military commissions as initially constituted were illegal under military law and the Geneva Conventions, prompting Congress to pass the Military Commissions Act of 2006. AP has more.