[JURIST] Rwandan prosecutors have called for Canada to extradite five suspects in the 1994 Rwanda genocide [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive], according to Friday media reports. The five, who all appear on Rwanda's most-wanted list and whom Rwandan officials described as "masterminds" of the genocide, are accused of planning and encouraging massacres, supplying weapons to militia groups, and other crimes. One of the suspects, former professor Leon Mugesera [CTV profile], denied the charges.

In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously [text; JURIST report] that Mugesera, accused of inciting genocide, must be deported from Canada. In 1992 he gave a speech in Rwanda encouraging Hutus to kill Tutsis, a speech the Canadian high court concluded could be reasonably viewed as a crime against humanity. Shortly afterward the court ruling, however, Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler [official profile] said that Mugesera would not be extradited [JURIST report] unless Canada received binding promises that he would not face the death penalty if convicted. Rwanda abolished the death penalty [JURIST report] in July, and subsequently signed extradition treaties with countries in Africa, Europe, and North America. The law ending the death penalty, which took effect July 25, was largely motivated by Rwanda's desire to receive extradited suspects accused of crimes in the genocide. CBC News has more.

[JURIST] Former terrorist suspect Karim Koubriti, a Moroccan national whose 2003 convictions for document fraud and conspiracy to aid terrorists were later overturned [JURIST report] by a US federal judge, filed a $9 million lawsuit in federal court Thursday against former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino, former federal security officer Harry Smith, and FBI agent Michael Thomas, alleging they violated his civil rights in their handling of his case. All three federal officials aided in the case against Koubriti, who was accused [indictment, PDF] of establishing a terrorist "sleeper cell" in Detroit [Wikipedia backgrounder]. The conviction was later overturned and Koubriti released [JURIST report] when the US Department of Justice agreed [JURIST report] that Convertino was not forthcoming with evidence [JURIST report] that would have benefited Koubriti and his three co-defendants. Convertino and Smith were indicted [JURIST report] last year for obstructing justice and lying to judges in connection with the case. AP has more.

Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled [JURIST report] that Koubriti could also sue a county in Detroit for supposed abuse while he was in jail. 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]. Meanwhile, the US government is working to retry Koubriti on insurance fraud charges.

[JURIST] Some protesters being detained by authorities in Myanmar [JURIST news archive] have begun a hunger strike, demanding that police camp officials provide medical treatment a fellow detainee with a broken leg, prominent labor rights activist Suu Suu Nway [AHRC backgrounder] said Friday. Nway said the man, whose leg was broken during an a anti-government protest march [AHN News report] Tuesday, is being detained in a police camp and has not received proper medical care. The Washington Post has more.

Tuesday's marches followed demonstrations last week in which 60 demonstrators were arrested for participating in a peaceful protest against a recent rise in fuel prices. On Monday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official website] issued a statement urging Myanmar [JURIST report] to immediately release those demonstrators, saying that allowing citizens to peacefully express themselves will help foster both democracy and reconciliation in Myanmar. In June, the United States renewed pressure [JURIST report] on the nation to release democracy advocate and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi [advocacy website] while the International Committee of the Red Cross denounced "violations of international humanitarian law" [press release] committed by the Myanmar government against citizens and detainees.

[JURIST] A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] ruled Thursday that the language used in policies by Nationwide Insurance [corporate website] was not "ambiguous" [opinion, PDF] about whether damage caused by combinations of wind and water is covered under a policy that only lists one of the two. Although Nationwide defeated a lawsuit [ruling, PDF; order and judgment, PDF; JURIST report] brought by Pascagoula Mississippi homeowners Paul and Julie Leonard alleging that Nationwide should pay for water damage to their homes from Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive], the insurance company pursued an appeal to clarify that the "anti-concurrent causation provision" was unambiguous. The distinction was important as ambiguous terms in insurance policies are normally resolved in favor of the policyholder, and the clause could become important in a number of other pending cases involving the company.

A lawyer representing the Leonards, as well as a number of other policyholders, told AP the couple will appeal, even though the decision's effect is limited because most of the cases involve damage "caused exclusively by wind before any water arrived." AP has more.

[JURIST] Several dozen Muslims in Kenya [JURIST news archive] protested in front of the Nairobi police headquarters Thursday, saying that the country has been detaining and torturing Muslim citizens at the request of the US government. The protesters alleged that suspects detained in Kenya were flown on secret rendition flights [JURIST news archive] to Ethiopia, where "aggressive interrogation" took place at the hands of Americans [JURIST report]. A spokeswoman for the US embassy in Nairobi [official website] told Reuters that the US was working heavily with regional powers to disrupt terrorism. Al-Amin Kimathi, chairman of Kenya's Muslim Human Rights Forum, was quoted by Reuters as questioning the extent to which the US exerted influence over the Kenyan government.

At the protest, the family of two brothers who were picked up during terror investigations presented a letter to police, demanding to know the brothers' status. The younger brother was allegedly picked up without charge or explanation by Kenyan police in January, before being taken to Somalia and then Ethiopia [JURIST news archives]. His relatives claim that they only heard from him once since then, and that he said he was being tortured. The older brother was picked up by police last week, but again relatives claim they have not been able to find out any details of his condition or whereabouts. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] Leandro Despouy [official website], UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, expressed apprehension Thursday over the conviction and sentencing of UN Special Rapporteur Sigma Huda [official profile, DOC]. Huda was sentenced [JURIST report] to a three-year jail term by the Bangladesh Supreme Court Monday for her involvement in a corruption scheme headed by her husband, former Bangladeshi Communications Minister Nazmul Huda. Despouy expressed concern in a statement [text] that the independence of the court had been "severely affected" and that the trial was "intimidating" due to the military and police presence throughout:

The Special Rapporteur received information indicating that the right to legal representation and the independence of the court were severely affected during her trial. According to these reports, defense lawyers felt pressured. They had no opportunity to visit her in prison and could only meet with her at the end of the hearings. They also had difficulties accessing the case files and other relevant information, thus compromising their ability to ensure an adequate defence. The atmosphere during the trial was reportedly intimidating, with military and police presence both outside and inside the courtroom, and access of the public and the media to the courtroom was considerably restricted.

[JURIST] Up to one-fourth of US Department of Justice civil appellate lawyers are refusing to represent the government on the appeals of detainees from Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], according to a story [text] in US News & World Report. A February court ruling [JURIST report] upholding the Military Commissions Act (MCA) [PDF text; JURIST news archive] put all Guantanamo detainee appeals under the jurisdiction of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, requiring the 56 lawyers in the appellate division to represent the government against the approximately 130 detainees awaiting appeal.

Sources told US News that as many as one-fourth of the lawyers have refused to participate since the court ruling in February because they disagree with the government's legal arguments. The DOJ has no formal structure allowing lawyers to refuse to take a legal position they disagree with, and it is unclear what course of action the DOJ will take. UPI has more.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] will likely invoke the state secrets privilege to halt a lawsuit against the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) [organization website], the Belgium-based international banking cooperative that disclosed personal information [JURIST report] about its customers to third parties, the New York Times reported Friday. The DOJ wants to dismiss the litigation in an effort to preserve the program designed to prevent financing terrorism. The state secrets privilege, which allows the US government to halt litigation on national security grounds, has come under scrutiny recently because of its frequent use by the Bush administration. The Bush administration has invoked the privilege 39 times, compared to just 59 times in the 24 years preceding President George W. Bush's tenure. The Bush administration unsuccessfully asserted the state secrets privilege [JURIST report] in litigation over the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive], while the DOJ is awaiting a ruling [JURIST report] on the state secrets privilege in a class action lawsuit [JURIST report] brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation involving the domestic surveillance program.

The case involves a lawsuit brought by two American banking customers who sued SWIFT in federal district court in Chicago, where District Judge James F. Holderman ruled that the lawsuit can proceed despite lenient American banking privacy laws. SWIFT moved to transfer the case to Virginia, and District Judge T.S. Ellis will hear a motion to reconsider Holderman's ruling Friday in Alexandria, Virginia. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] The Thai government said Friday that it has lifted a five-month ban on the popular video-sharing website YouTube [corporate website], now owned by Google [corporate website], after YouTube's site operator agreed to prohibit offensive videos from appearing on the site. Thailand banned access [JURIST report] to YouTube and several other websites in April that contained material deemed offensive to the country's monarch King Bhumibol Adulyadej. A video on YouTube depicting the king as a clown with feet pasted over his head, an insulting image in Thai culture that can amount to a criminal offense, caused outrage but received more than 16,000 viewers. In May, the Thai government opted not to sue Google [JURIST report] over the video clip.

The government did not provide a reason for lifting the ban, but Information and Communication Technology Minister Sitthichai Phokai-udom [IHT backgrounder] indicated to the Nation [media website] that Thailand agreed to lift the ban only after YouTube created a program that effectively blocks people using Thai Internet service providers from accessing similarly offensive video clips. AP has more. From Bangkok, the Nation has local coverage.

[JURIST] US forces in Iraq [JURIST news archive] will release 50 Iraqi detainees per day during the Muslim religious month of Ramadan, according to an announcement by Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi Friday. The US military confirmed Hashemi's announcement, saying the military has reached a deal with the vice president to begin releasing detainees [JURIST news archive]. Ramadan begins the second week of September, and the detainee releases could begin sooner.

US forces currently have some 23,000 Iraqi detainees [JURIST report] in custody, while Iraqi security forces have detained an additional 60,000. Both figures mark a sharp rise in the number of detainees from last year. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] A judge sitting in Polk County [official website], Iowa Thursday struck down Iowa's same-sex marriage ban [PDF text] as an unconstitutional violation of due process and equal protection. Judge Robert Hanson ordered officials to process marriage license applications for same-sex couples despite an announcement by county attorney John Sarcone that the county will appeal Hanson's ruling directly to the Iowa Supreme Court [official website]. Sarcone quickly sought a stay on same-sex marriage applications from Hanson pending the county's appeal. Iowa passed its Defense of Marriage Act [Marriage Watch backgrounder] in 1996.

Sioux City couple Jason Moran and Chuck Swaggerty first brought the lawsuit in December 2005 after being denied a marriage license. House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, also of Sioux City, predicted that the state legislature will debate same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive] during their next session, and possibly draft a constitutional amendment. In April, the Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill [SF247 materials; JURIST report] that that will provide equal opportunity protection to gays and lesbians in employment, housing, and education, but left the definition of marriage the same. AP has more. The Sioux City Journal has local coverage.

12:16 PM ET - AP is reporting that two Iowan men have now been married by a minister in Des Moines.

2:58 PM ET - Polk County Judge Robert Hanson has officially stayed his ruling. AP has more.

[JURIST] The number of executions worldwide increased slightly in 2006 while the number of countries that employ capital punishment decreased, according to a report [text; press release] released Thursday by the Rome-based anti-death penalty group Hands Off Cain [advocacy website]. According to statistics compiled from news reports and NGOs, there were 5628 executions in 27 countries in 2006, up from 5494 executions in 24 countries in 2005. At the same time, three countries abolished the death penalty [JURIST news archive] last year, reducing the number of countries that use capital punishment to 51. In total, 146 countries have either abolished or placed a moratorium on the death penalty.

At the presentation of the report, Hands Off Cain honored Rwandan President Paul Kagame [official website; BBC profile] as "Abolitionist of the Year" for his country's abolishment of the death penalty [JURIST report] earlier this year. Rwanda ended the practice in part to encourage other nations to extradite war-criminals responsible for Rwanda's 1994 genocide. At the same time, the group condemned Iran and Pakistan for their executions of minors last year, in violation of international law. According to Human Rights Watch, Iran has executed eight times more juveniles [JURIST report] than any other country. AP has more.