[JURIST] A federal judge Friday overturned his previous ruling [CCR press release] dismissing 16 lawsuits challenging the indefinite detention of about 40 terror suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report], in the process avoiding new limitations on lawyers' access to their clients at the US military prison. US District Court Judge Ricardo Urbina reinstated the petitions of habeas corpus after lawyers for the detainees asked him to reconsider his holding. Urbina's initial dismissal of the habeas challenges pending expected December Supreme Court hearings in Al Odah v. United States and Boumediene v. Bush had rendered invalid protocols governing lawyers' access to detainees and had prompted Department of Justice officials to bar further access until the lawyers agreed to new restrictions allegedly required by security concerns. In issuing his new holding Friday, Urbina expressed concern at the DOJ manoeuvring.

Last month, a DOJ lawyer informed [JURIST report] detainees' counsel that they would no longer be able to visit with or send written communications to their clients. The DOJ created a series of steps for lawyers wishing to resume contact with detainees, but one detainee lawyer, Wells Dixon, called the measures "the latest example of the government's efforts to frustrate counsel access to detainees." More recently, the DOJ formally allowed [JURIST report] fourteen "high-value" terrorism suspects the right to request lawyers. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UN special envoy to Myanmar noted what he characterized as continuing and disturbing reports of abuses being committed by security and non-uninformed elements at a meeting of the UN Security Council Friday as Myanmar officials continued the hunt for the ringleaders in recent anti-government protests. Ibrahim Gambari [UN profile] was reporting [press release] to the UN Security Council on the results of his recent expedition to meet with Myanmar's ruling military junta, saying that the government had agreed to talk with detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi [advocacy website; JURIST news archive] under certain conditions which include that the UN abandon calls for international sanctions against the country. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also addressed [text; AP report] the Security Council Friday, expressing deep over rights violations in the Myanmar regime's violent reaction to pro-democracy demonstrations. AP has more.

Myanmar announced Friday that it had detained 500 Buddhist monks involved in last week's pro-democracy demonstrations, but that security forces were still looking for four monks thought to be the leaders. As part of an apparent effort to prove the government's high regard for Buddhist holy men, a government official Friday appealed to senior religious leaders in Yangon to turn the four monks over to authorities. Police arrested dozens of monks [JURIST report] last week in response to widespread anti-government protests, led by the monks and joined by thousands of other citizens, sparked by a sharp increase in fuel prices in August. The government tolerated the anti-government protesters for a month, but last week, the military government banned public gatherings [JURIST report] of more than five people and imposed a curfew. At least eight people were killed when police opened fire on protesters [JURIST report]. Rights groups insist that the death toll in the government crackdown has actually been much higher. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Chinese Medical Association (CMA) [profession website] agreed at a meeting of the World Medical Association [profession website] in Copenhagen Friday to end the harvesting of organs from prisoners, except for transplant into close relatives. In a letter to the World Medical Association, the CMA promised to increase oversight of China's organ transplant practices and to clamp down on violations of government regulations. AP has more.

China's organ donation policies have long been criticized by international human rights groups, which allege that China routinely harvests organs [JURIST report] from executed criminals and accident victims without the consent of the donors' families, a charge that China has long denied. In March, an anonymous senior Chinese Supreme Court [official website] official said [JURIST report] that China uses the same strict organ donation procedures when accepting organs from executed criminals as it does with any other organ donations, but doubt exists as to how the requirement for informed consent [JURIST report] is enforced. In March 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Health [official website, in Chinese] issued a general ban on the sale of human organs [JURIST report] that took effect on July 1, 2006. The Ministry also issued new regulations [JURIST report] in August 2006 to counter unauthorized international trade in organs, including rules that would restrict the number of hospitals permitted to perform transplants. China officially banned the sale of human organs in May following an April 6 decision [JURIST report] by the State Council [official website].

[JURIST] The top military prosecutor for the Guantanamo war crimes trials has resigned his post, according to a US Department of Defense (DOD) [official website] spokesman Friday. Air Force Col. Moe Davis [official profile, PDF] requested a transfer from Guantanamo [JURIST news archive] after complaining that an officer who served as legal advisor to the Convening Authority [official backgrounder], who is responsible for running the trials, should not be supervising his work. A team of investigating experts assembled by the DOD found that the officer did have the authority to oversee Davis, but Davis had already requested a transfer before receiving the panel's decision on Thursday. A military spokesman said that Davis' resignation is not expected to delay the start of trials next month. Reuters has more. The Miami Herald has additional coverage.

Attempts to bring Guantanamo detainees to trial have met with numerous setbacks. The US Supreme Court effectively dismissed the charges against the original 10 Guantanamo defendants accused of terrorism in June 2006 when it rejected [JURIST report] President Bush's initial military commission system, saying it was created without proper authorization from Congress. In response, the Republican-dominated Congress created a new military tribunal system [JURIST report] this past September when it passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) [PDF text; JURIST news archive], elaborated in a manual [JURIST report] published January 18.

[JURIST] US President George W. Bush Friday defended [remarks] his administration's interrogation policy, saying that the "government does not torture people" and that it "stick[s] to US law and our international obligations." Bush was responding to Congressional demands for two 2005 Department of Justice opinion letters [JURIST reports] that reportedly endorsed harsh interrogation tactics. Bush said:

I have put this program in place for a reason, and that is to better protect the American people. And when we find somebody who may have information regarding an - a potential attack on America, you bet we're going to detain them, and you bet we're going to question them - because the American people expect us to find out information - actionable intelligence so we can help protect them. That's our job...[W]e got professionals who are trained in this kind of work to get information that will protect the American people.

[JURIST] Spanish police arrested over 20 senior members of the Batasuna party [BBC profile] Thursday on orders from anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon. The reasons for their arrests have not been released, but many believe the arrests were politically motivated. The Batasuna party is alleged to be a front for the illegal Basque separatist militant group ETA [BBC backgrounder], which has been blamed for more than 800 deaths in bombings and attacks since the 1960s. Radical Basque nationalists Friday called for protests [Reuters report] of the arrests.

In March, Spanish prosecutors dropped charges of "glorifying terrorism" [JURIST report] against Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi [advocacy website] for his praise of an ETA member who killed herself with explosives. The Spanish Supreme Court in 2005 affirmed a slander conviction [BBC report] of Otegi relating to a 2003 press conference when Otegi said the King of Spain was responsible for torture as the head of the Spanish army. AP has more. El Pais has local coverage, in Spanish.

[JURIST] Iraqi judge Rahdi Hamza al-Radhi, the former head of Iraq's Commission for Public Integrity (CPI) [US State Dept. backgrounder], has accused [statement, PDF] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government of protecting corrupt employees and of actively attempting to "eradicate or control the Commission." During a US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform [official website] Thursday hearing to assess the state of Iraqi Corruption [hearing materials], al-Radhi also said al-Maliki has "refused to recognize the independence of the Commission on Public Integrity" in violation of the Iraqi Constitution and has actively interfered with the CPI's efforts to investigate the presidency, the council of ministries, as well as former and current ministers.

In September, al-Radhi resigned from the CPI while on official business in the United States, citing the increase in death threats against him and his family, though there have also been corruption allegations against al-Radhi [JURIST report]. The CPI was established [press release] in 2004 and has the power to investigate complaints, refer criminal violations to the courts, and propose legislation to address corruption. In April, a US auditor's report [PDF text; JURIST report] found that efforts to combat widespread corruption in Iraq [JURIST news archive] were hindered by security problems and by al-Maliki's reinstatement of a Saddam-era criminal procedure code [PDF text] provision allowing ministers to block corruption investigations of their own departments. McClatchy Newspapers has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] ruled Friday that a controversial presidential election slated for October 6 in the National Assembly of Pakistan [official website] and provincial assemblies may proceed, but barred the Election Commission of Pakistan [official website] from officially declaring a winner until the high court issues a ruling on whether President Pervez Musharraf was an eligible presidential candidate. The Supreme Court of Pakistan will not be able issue a ruling until October 17 at the earliest, when it will hear legal challenges [JURIST report] filed by opposition party members challenging Musharraf's bid. Musharraf's current term expires November 15.

Opposition members argue that the Election Commission of Pakistan should not have formally accepted Musharraf's nomination [JURIST report] as a presidential candidate because of his dual role as president and army chief. The petitioners also argue that Musharraf should not be able to avoid a general election by seeking re-election from the outgoing National Assembly and provincial assemblies. On Tuesday, opposition leaders submitted the formal resignation of 85 of 342 members of the National Assembly in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the upcoming election. The Pakistani high court ruled [JURIST report] last week that Musharraf should be allowed to run for another term, but the new challenges rely on a recent rule change [press release] by the election commission affecting Musharraf's ability to run, which has not yet been directly considered by the top court. AP has more.

[JURIST] The UK Department of Education and Skills [official website] issued updated school uniform guidelines [backgrounder] Thursday that allow school heads to ban Muslim veils [JURIST news archive] but stopped short of imposing a government ban on religious dress that covers students' faces. A draft version of the guidelines [JURIST report], published in March, proposed allowing schools to ban some religious dress to facilitate education and maintain security on campus. Thursday's guidelines make it clear that the school heads must decide on religious dress bans, rather than offering an automatic right to ban Muslim veils.

In February, the UK High Court denied [JURIST report] an application for judicial review stemming from a 12-year-old Muslim girl's challenge to a public school policy that prevented her from wearing her full-face veil (niqab) [BBC backgrounder] at school. Mr. Justice Silber found the school policy appropriate on the grounds that the veil would dampen teacher interaction, and that the policy fosters a sense of equality among students and could prevent an unwanted visitor from using a veil as a disguise to enter the school undetected by administrators. Also in February, a panel of UK senior judges were reported to have agreed that full Islamic veils should not be worn [JURIST report] in British courts and tribunals, but that individual judges and magistrates should have discretion to allow a full veil to be worn if it did not go against the "interests of justice." Muslim veils and other forms of religious dress [JURIST report] are currently banned from public schools in France and are highly contentious [JURIST reports] in Germany. ANI has more.

[JURIST] Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] signed a "reconciliation ordinance" Friday, granting amnesty to former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto [BBC profile] on corruption charges. The agreement reached between the two political rivals [BBC backgrounder] clears the way Bhutto to return to Pakistan from self-exile in London and Dubai to campaign in parliamentary elections for prime minister later this year. The ordinance also applies to similar charges against politicians who were charged, but not convicted, of corruption between 1988 and 1999. Talks on the power-sharing accord between Musharraf and Bhutto seemed to break down [JURIST report] earlier this week. Musharraf said Wednesday that reported Pakistani promises to drop pending corruption charges [JURIST reports] against Bhutto amounted to "disinformation." Bhutto needed the corruption charges dropped so that she could re-enter the country for personal talks between her Pakistani People's Party [party website] and Musharraf, while Musharraf needed Bhutto's endorsement for Saturday's election.

Musharraf's re-election bid has been widely criticized for violating a constitutional ban on holding dual roles as president and army chief; 85 opposition members of parliament resigned Tuesday in protest. Legal challenges [JURIST report] to Musharraf's candidacy remain, although one Supreme Court judge has already recused himself from the latest proceedings, a development that is expect to delay further hearings. The New York Times has more. Aljazeera has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Senate confirmation hearings for US Attorney General nominee Michael B. Mukasey [WH factsheet; PBWT profile] could begin as early as October 17, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website] said Thursday. Leahy on Tuesday listed what he described as topics of "concern" to be addressed in the upcoming Senate confirmation hearings in a letter [press release and text; JURIST report] to Mukasey. Leahy encouraged Mukasey to directly answer questions which have been avoided by the White House and to commit to restoring political independence to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website]. He also said he would seek Mukasey's opinion on controversial issues including the US Attorney firings scandal [JURIST news archive], the investigation of alleged election crimes, the executive abuse of secrecy and expansion of power, and his willingness to share materials related to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; JURIST news archive] investigations. Leahy also inquired into Mukasey's close relationship with presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani [official profile] and whether he would recuse himself from matters related to Giuliani.

Last month Mukasey told Leahy in a private meeting [JURIST report] that as attorney general he would forbid DOJ employees from discussing sensitive cases with outside agencies, the White House or Congress without his authorization. Leahy said at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting that he was pleased with Mukasey's "attitude," retreating from earlier statements that he would hold up Mukasey's nomination until the Bush administration hands over key information about its domestic surveillance program [JURIST news archive]. President George W. Bush formally nominated [JURIST report] Mukasey to replace former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales [JURIST news archive] September 17. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have generally reacted favorably [JURIST report] to the nomination, expressing tentative bipartisan support for a quick confirmation process. AP has more.

[JURIST] The investigating officer who headed the Article 32 hearing [JAG backgrounder] for US Marine Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich [advocacy website] has recommended that Wuterich not face unpremeditated murder charges but instead be tried for negligent homicide, defense lawyers said Thursday. Wuterich, the former squad leader implicated in the killing and suspected cover-up of the death of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha [USMC timeline; JURIST news archive] in November 2005, allegedly ordered several Marines to shoot unarmed Iraqis inside homes that were "hostile." Wuterich is also facing charges of soliciting another to commit an offense and making a false official statement. The investigating officer's recommendations are not binding, but commanding officers customarily accept the recommendations.

In August, a witness at Wuterich's preliminary hearing [JURIST report] testified that he never personally witnessed Wuterich shoot any of the 24 Iraqi civilians. Also in August, a hearing officer recommended [JURIST report] that murder charges be dropped against Lance Cpl. Stephen Tatum [advocacy profile], citing insufficient evidence to support a court-martial on charges of unpremeditated murder, negligent homicide and assault [USMC charge list]. 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. AP has more.

[JURIST] A federal jury awarded six recording companies $222,000 Thursday in Virgin v. Thomas [case materials], the first music file-sharing lawsuit to go to trial, ordering Jammie Thomas to pay for sharing 24 copyrighted songs on the Internet. The recording companies, including Sony BMG, Arista Records, Interscope Records, UMG Recordings, Capitol Records and Warner Bros. Records [corporate websites], originally alleged that Thomas had shared 1,702 songs on the Internet, but only sued her for $9,250 for each of 24 copyrighted songs. The recording companies added that Thomas downloaded the music illegally, and then provided them online through a Kazaa [corporate website] file-sharing account. Under US copyright law, the recording companies could have sued Thomas for $750 to $30,000 for each violation. Thomas has maintained that she never had a Kazaa account.

Record companies have filed over 26,000 lawsuits since 2003 over file-sharing [JURIST news archive], resulting in small settlements for most cases, including 8,000 cases filed against 17 defendants [JURIST report] worldwide last October. AP has more. Ars Technica has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Leading Democrats on Capitol Hill on Thursday demanded that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] hand over two 2005 legal opinions that reportedly endorse severe interrogation techniques [JURIST report]. Earlier Thursday, the New York Times first reported that the DOJ circulated internal memos, the first of which was released soon after Alberto Gonzales became US Attorney General in February 2005 and reversed the DOJ's position that such interrogation techniques are "abhorrent" and to be avoided. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) [official website] quickly sent a letter to acting Attorney General Peter Keisler demanding the internal memos, advising the DOJ that that the administration will lose credibility if the DOJ fails to hand the memos to Congress, and chiding the DOJ for allowing the Intelligence Committee to find out more information from the media than the department itself. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) [official website] said that the Judiciary Committee has tried to obtain the legal opinions on interrogations for two years, saying they interpreted the law "in secret." Leahy added that the Judiciary Committee will carefully question attorney general nominee Michael B. Mukasey [WH factsheet] on his views of interrogation tactics at upcoming Senate confirmation hearings. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) [official websites] called the memos "extremely troubling" in a letter to Keisler, while also demanding that the DOJ acting chief counsel Steven Bradbury be made available for committee hearings.

Around the time Congress was considering a statutory ban on "cruel, inhuman and degrading" interrogation techniques [JURIST document], the DOJ circulated a second classified opinion stating that all techniques used by the CIA are legal under that standard. President George W. Bush signed the defense spending bill containing the anti-torture language [JURIST report] on the last day of 2005. Officials speaking to the Times on condition of anonymity said the 2005 opinions remain in effect today and have been confirmed by subsequent internal legal memoranda. AP has more. The New York Times has additional coverage.