[JURIST] The Korean Fair Trade Commission [official website, in English] has completed a two-year investigation into allegations that computer chip maker Intel pressured consumers into buying its products over those made by rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) [corporate websites], according to Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy Tuesday. Mulloy said the company had received a "statement of objection," which is a set of preliminary antitrust charges, although no formal charges have yet been laid. The Commission's investigation follows on the heels of similar probes [JURIST report] by the European Commission and the Japan Fair Trade Commission [official websites], which similarly found that Intel pressured consumers into favoring its computer chips. Mulloy asserted Tuesday that Intel had merely engaged in "pro-competition," which was "ultimately beneficial to consumers." Intel could face fines in both Europe and Korea for engaging in anti-competitive behavior.

Last month, American Antitrust Institute [advocacy website] President Albert Foer wrote a letter [PDF text] to the US Federal Trade Commission [official website], urging the government to conduct its own investigation into Intel's behavior. The letter was a response to the European Commission filing formal charges [Business Wire report] in July against Intel for violating European Union competition laws by abusing its dominance power in the marketplace. In 2005, AMD filed anti-trust lawsuits [US complaint, PDF] against Intel in both the United States and Japan [JURIST reports]. Intel has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. AP has more.

[JURIST] The trial of Rod Coronado [defense website], an environmental and animal rights activist charged [US DOJ press release, PDF] with one count of distributing information on explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, began in California Tuesday. Federal prosecutors say that in 2003 Coronado told an audience in San Diego how to start a fire using products commonly purchased from stores. Coronado faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted under legislation passed by Congress in 1997 in the wake of the 1995 bombing of the Oklahoma City Federal Building and now enshrined in USC Title 18, Section 842(p)(2)(A) [text].

Coronado is said to have been a longtime advocate of ecoterrorism [Wikipedia backgrounder], and has been connected with both the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) [advocacy websites]. In June, Daniel McGowan, another alleged ecoterrorist associated with both the ALF and ELF, was sentenced [JURIST report] to 7 years in prison for conspiracy and arson charges. 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] The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) [official website] has asked President Hamid Karzai [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] to veto a bill awaiting bicameral and presidential approval that would strip the Commission of the power to select its own commissioners, handing that power to parliament instead. Under the Afghanistan Constitution [text], AIHRC is an independently-run body. However, the Afghan lower house voted [Pajhwok Afghan News report] last week to require 16 independent commissions, including the AIHRC, to obtain parliamentary approval for appointment of their commissioners. The bill must pass both the lower and upper houses of the national assembly, as well as gain presidential backing, before it can become law.

According to the AIHRC website, the Commission is "independent" because:

it is not within the trine pillars of the country, Judiciary, parliament and government; however, it is part of the structure of the system and acts independently. The Commission mandate requires acting independently; otherwise the Commission can not monitor the activities of government agencies and other institutions in regard to implementation of law and ensuring of human rights.

[JURIST] Detained Iranian-American consultant Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh [OSI press release; JURIST news archive] is expected to be released from a Tehran prison "within the next few days," according to comments from Tajbakhsh and those of an Iranian spokesman talking to journalists during a interview at the notorious Evin Prison [AP report; Wikipedia backgrounder] Tuesday. Tajbakhsh and Iranian-American scholar Haleh Esfandiari [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] were arrested [JURIST report] in May after alleged involvement in a plot against the Iranian government; though the investigation concluded in August and Esfandiari left Iran [JURIST reports] earlier this month, Tajbakhsh continued to be held without charge. Tajbakhsh reported during Tuesday's media visit that he still has not been formally charged, but an Iranian spokesman said he has been charged with endangering national security. It was reported [text] Tuesday that Tajbakhsh's bail has been set at one billion rials, lower than Esfandiari's posted bail [JURIST report].

Esfandiari remains accused of involvement in an alleged plot "against the sovereignty of the country." In July, a video aired on Iranian state television purporting to show Tajbakhsh and Esfandiari confessing to attempts to create a "gap between the [Iranian] government and the nation." Tajbakhsh's employer, the Open Society Institute [organization website], said that the statements were made under pressure from captors. Tajbakhsh told reporters Tuesday that prison conditions were "fine." AP has more.

[JURIST] Time [media website] magazine announced Tuesday that it plans to appeal an August 30 decision [JURIST report] by the Supreme Court of Indonesia awarding former Indonesian President Haji Mohammad Suharto [CNN profile; JURIST news archive] $106 million in damages in Suharto’s defamation suit against the publication. Suharto sued Time over a 1999 article [text] that said Suharto had hidden billions of dollars in foreign banks. The Supreme Court overturned two lower court decisions against Suharto, ordering Time to pay damages and publish a formal apology in Indonesian newspapers and its own magazine. A lawyer for the magazine said that Time stands by the months of research conducted for the story, and that it will "take any legal measures available to defend freedom of the press." No further details of the appeal were given. AP has more.

Suharto is currently the subject of a civil lawsuit [JURIST report] brought by the Indonesian government for allegedly embezzling $440 million between 1974 and 1998 from the Yayasan Supersemar [education website, in Bahasa Indonesian], a state-funded academic scholar fund. Last week, prosecutors announced that the court-ordered settlement negotiations had broken down, and that the government will instead proceed in court [JURIST reports]. Suharto was ousted from power in 1998 amid violent protests against a 32-year dictatorship that used security forces to stifle dissent and allegedly embezzled billions of government funds.

[JURIST] New Orleans District Attorney Eddie Jordan [official profile] declined Monday to file criminal charges against a local nursing home for the death of 19 elderly residents during post-Hurricane Katrina [JURIST news archive] flooding. During the hurricane, nuns from the Sisters of the Holy Family [congregation website], who operated the Lafon Nursing Home, decided evacuation posed a greater risk to patients than remaining within the home. Elderly nuns living in the facility and all of the nuns in the nearby motherhouse were evacuated; none of the first-floor patients were moved. Jordan said that an investigation revealed no criminal conduct [DA press release]. AP has more.

The decision came just days after a Louisiana state jury found owners of another New Orleans nursing home not guilty [JURIST report] of 35 charges of negligent homicide and 64 charges of cruelty. Thirty-five residents at St. Rita's Nursing Home were killed due to flooding that overtook the one-story nursing home in less than 20 minutes. The owners pleaded not guilty, maintaining that they did what they thought would keep the residents safe by keeping the residents at the home with food, water, and generators.

[JURIST] A Florida Fifth Judicial Circuit [official website] judge ruled Monday that the December 2006 execution [JURIST report] of Angel Diaz [AI profile; JURIST news archive] was not "botched," as previously alleged by a medical examiner. According to autopsy reports, Diaz endured a 34-minute-long lethal injection that required a second injection after needles were improperly inserted into his arm. In his opinion, Circuit Judge Carven Angel concluded that Diaz died within a reasonable period of time following injection of the drugs, and his death was "painless and humane." Angel's ruling came in the case of Lightbourne v. State of Florida [docket], a lethal injection challenge arising out of the Diaz execution. Angel ruled that the stay of execution can now be lifted for death row inmate Ian Deco Lightbourne, arguing that the Florida Department of Corrections [official website] has taken appropriate measures to correct "irregularities" arising out of Diaz's execution. The Florida Supreme Court [official website] has yet to consider the issue; oral arguments in the Lightbourne case are scheduled for October 11.

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush [official profile] suspended all executions in the Florida in December following Diaz's execution and appointed a commission to study Florida's lethal injections procedures [PDF text]. Florida Governor Charlie Crist [official profile] officially ended the state's temporary suspension on executions [JURIST report] in July. AP has more. The St. Petersburg Times has local coverage.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] upheld the death sentence of Stevie Lamar Fields Monday, ruling that a jury foreman's reliance on Biblical scripture had no "substantial and injurious effect" on the jury's sentencing decision. The court ruled [opinion text, PDF] 9-6 against Fields' habeas appeal. Fields was convicted of rape, kidnapping, robbery, and murder and sentenced to death in 1979, despite the fact that the jury foreman in the case used personal notes, including Bible quotations regarding capital punishment [JURIST news archive], during the jury's deliberations.

This is not the first opinion on the role of freedom of religion in court decisions to come out of the Ninth Circuit in the last few days. On Friday, the court ruled [opinion text, PDF] that it was unconstitutional under the First Amendment for a parole officer to mandate that a former prisoner attend meetings sponsored by Alcoholics Anonymous [advocacy website]. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] Ousted Philippines president Joseph Estrada [BBC profile] maintained his innocence Tuesday and predicted he will be acquitted of corruption charges when the verdict in his six-year trial [JURIST report] is handed down Wednesday. Estrada was removed from power in a 2001 revolt that brought his former vice president, current Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo [official website] to power. He has been held in detention in the Philippines [JURIST news archive] ever since his ouster. He has been charged with mass corruption under the nation's economic plunder law for allegedly stashing some $77 million in gambling payoffs, kickbacks and illegal commissions in secret bank accounts under an alias.

Estrada supporters are expected to rally Wednesday outside the Manila courthouse where the former leader has been on trial, and the government has placed security forces on alert. ABC Australia News has more. CNA has local coverage.

[JURIST] French Justice Minister Rachida Dati [official profile, in French; BBC profile] engaged in emergency discussions with senior members of the French judiciary on Monday to prevent a threatened judges' revolt. Objections have been raised to what some regard as the authoritarian style the controversial politician [Telegraph report] has adopted since her appointment by new French President Nicolas Sarkozy [official profile, in French; JURIST news archive]; in the process, Dati has been accused of trying to muddy the constitutional separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive. Several advisers in Dati's office have already quit in protest.

Dati was sharply criticized earlier this year for saying that she was "head of the prosecutors" while responding to opposition to a bill she proposed [JURIST report] to toughen the French criminal code [text, in French]. Last Friday France's Higher Judicial Council [official website] summoned her for questioning after she sparred with a prosecutor who criticized her proposal. She is the first Justice Minister to be summoned by the Council. Dati, 41, is a Muslim of North African origin; trained as a lawyer, she enjoyed a mercurial rise in Sarkozy's inner circle since she began advising him on immigration issues in 2002 when he was still Interior Minister. The Times has more.

[JURIST] A lawyer for US Marine First Lt. Andrew Grayson, an intelligence officer accused of mishandling an investigation into the killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive], said Monday that Grayson has rejected a plea offer from military prosecutors requiring him to admit attempting to cover up the killings in exchange for prosecutors dropping all charges. Grayson, accused of making a false official statement, obstructing justice, and dereliction of duty, allegedly ordered a subordinate to delete photographic evidence [JURIST report] taken hours after the killings to keep it out of a report being prepared for top-ranking officers and a reporter. Grayson will now likely face a Article 32 [JAG backgrounder] hearing in November. AP has more.

The Haditha investigation has culminated in the largest US military prosecution involving civilian deaths during the war in Iraq. In August, preliminary Article 32 hearings began for US Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [advocacy website], who commanded the platoon implicated in the killing and suspected cover-up. He faces several counts of unpremeditated murder, as well as charges of soliciting another to commit an offense and making a false official statement. Also in August, a hearing officer recommended [JURIST report] that murder charges be dropped against Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum [advocacy profile] for his role in the Haditha incident. The hearing officer argued there was insufficient evidence to support bringing Tatum to court-martial on charges of unpremeditated murder, negligent homicide and assault [USMC charge list]. A final decision on Tatum's case has not yet been made. An official report on the Haditha incident by US Army Major General Eldon Bargewell found "serious misconduct" [JURIST report] on all levels of the US Marine Corps chain of command.

[JURIST] The Dutch government has invited UN representatives to discuss final arrangements for the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon [UN materials] it has agreed to host [JURIST report] to try suspects for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri [JURIST news archive], Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen [official website, in Dutch] said Monday in a letter to the Dutch parliament [official website, in Dutch]. The UN delegation will help determine the specific location and costs of the tribunal, and where suspects will be imprisoned if convicted. Last week, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said that he will appoint judges to the tribunal [JURIST report] as soon as sufficient funding for the tribunal is in place, supposedly by the end of 2007. Ban estimates that the tribunal will cost $120 million over three years, and expects the UN to secure $35 million in funds for the first year of operation by the end of this year, along with an additional $85 million in pledges to cover the next two years. Ban said that he has already taken preliminary steps on the selection of international and Lebanese judges, and that he hopes to announce the names of judges to sit on the tribunal by the end of the year.

The UN Security Council unilaterally established the tribunal [JURIST report; UN News report] in May after a divided Lebanese government failed to agree on a proposal. The tribunal will also investigate [JURIST report] and possibly try suspects in 17 other attempted and successful political assassinations in Lebanon. AP has more.

[JURIST] Brandon Mayfield [JURIST news archive], the Oregon attorney arrested [JURIST report] and detained for two weeks in May 2004 after the FBI mistakenly concluded that his fingerprints matched [JURIST report] those found on a bag containing detonators used in the 2004 Madrid train bombings [BBC backgrounder; JURIST news archive] argued Monday that provisions of the USA Patriot Act [JURIST news archive] allowed investigators to search his home and office in violation of the Fourth Amendment unreasonable search and seizure clause [text]. Appearing in the US District Court for the District of Oregon [official website], Mayfield said that he was unfairly targeted by the FBI because he converted to Islam and that the government continues to violate his Fourth Amendment rights by retaining copies of his family's personal records.

Lawyers for the Justice Department argued that Mayfield's Patriot Act challenge could not continue after the the US government agreed to pay $2 million in November in a settlement agreement [PDF text; JURIST report], and that the government's retention of Mayfield's family records would not harm the family. Mayfield had originally alleged that the FBI orchestrated his arrest because of his religious beliefs as a Muslim, though a 2006 DOJ Inspector General report [text] refuted those claims [press release]. After an investigation into his arrest and detention, the Inspector General [official website] cleared FBI agents involved in the incident of any wrongdoing and made several suggestions for improvement to the fingerprint identification process that have been implemented by the DOJ. The US also formally apologized [PDF text] to Mayfield per the agreement. AP has more.

[JURIST] Lawyers for former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif [BBC profile] filed an appeal of Sharif's Monday deportation [JURIST report] to Saudi Arabia with the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] Tuesday, asking the court to hold the Pakistani government in contempt for violating an August Supreme Court ruling that Sharif had an "inalienable right to enter and remain in the country" [JURIST report] as a citizen of Pakistan. Sharif was arrested on corruption and money laundering charges [JURIST report] and then expelled shortly after landing in the country on a flight from London. Sharif was first sent to Saudi Arabia seven years ago under a deal with then coup leader and now president Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile] to stay out of the country for 10 years. Over the weekend, security officials detained more than 2,000 supporters [JURIST report] of Sharif anticipating his return to Pakistan, where he was expected to challenge Musharraf's re-election bid. AP has more.

Sharif's deportation has sparked worldwide outrage, prompting several retired Supreme Court of Pakistan justices to publicly condemn it and advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] to accuse Musharraf of flouting international law [HRW statement] by forcing Sharif back into exile. Retired Justice Fakharunisa Khokhar said Sharif should have been given a trial for the new corruption charges under which he was arrested rather than being immediately deported. Pakistani Attorney General Malik Qayyum countered that the government's move was "according to the law." HRW has called for the Pakistani government to release those arrested over the weekend for supporting Sharif's return. AFP has more. From Pakistan, the Daily Times has local coverage.