[JURIST] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] called for countries to hold to treaties restricting chemical and explosive weapons in remarks at two separate meetings Monday. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte read Ban's statement [text] during a conference on the Chemical Weapons Convention [text] at The Hague. Over 180 countries have already joined the Convention, but Ban noted that several key countries remain uncommitted. He praised Albania for destroying its entire arsenal of chemical weapons in July, and called on other nations to follow suit.

Also Monday, Deputy Secretary-General for the Conference on Disarmament Timothy Caughley read another statement [text] by Ban to a Geneva meeting on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons' Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War [PDF text]. Ban stressed that hidden explosive weapons, such as land mines, continue to claim lives and hamper economic recovery long after armed conflicts have ceased. Thirty-five countries have signed on to Protocol V, which went into effect in November 2006. Ban urged non-member countries to join the treaty and, in the meantime, to disarm voluntarily. The UN News Centre has more.

[JURIST] Florida death row inmate Ian Deco Lightbourne [docket] on Monday asked the state supreme court to reconsider its decision last week that Florida's revised lethal injection protocols do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment [JURIST report] in violation of the US Constitution. The Florida Supreme Court issued two decisions last week in challenges filed by Lightbourne and fellow death row inmate Mark Dean Schwab [decisions, PDF], but in his petition for a rehearing Monday, Lightbourne argued that the Florida Department of Corrections [official website] has not properly addressed the fact that trained medical professionals do not monitor the administration of lethal injections. Schwab's execution is currently scheduled for November 15; he has applied for a stay of execution, but the Florida Supreme Court has not yet ruled on his motion.

Then-Florida Governor Jeb Bush suspended all executions in the state [JURIST report] last December after a medical examiner said that the execution earlier that month of Angel Diaz [Amnesty profile] was botched. Diaz endured a 34-minute-long execution as a result of the improper insertion of needles during the first injection. The ban was lifted [JURIST report] in July after revised lethal injection protocols were put in place.

At the national level, the US Supreme Court will consider this term a challenge to Kentucky's lethal injection procedures. Several constitutional challenges to lethal injection [JURIST news archive] have arisen across the country in recent months, mainly focusing on an argument that the first drug administered in a commonly used three-drug mixture [DPIC backgrounder] fails to make the inmate fully unconscious, thereby making the inmate feel excruciating pain when a heart-stopping drug is injected. AP has more.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Monday in Kentucky v. Davis [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], 06-666 [docket], to determine whether a state violates the Commerce Clause [FindLaw backgrounder] of the US Constitution when it taxes bonds issued by other states, but does not tax its own bonds. The case was filed by a couple from Kentucky who allege that their state is unconstitutionally interfering with interstate commerce by permitting tax exemptions for Kentucky-issued bonds. The Kentucky Court of Appeals overruled [opinion, PDF] the lower court decision for the state, determining that the tax system was facially unconstitutional because it favored in-state bonds. The Kentucky court also held that states are not exempt from the Commerce Clause simply because they do not act as market regulators. Currently, 42 states allow such tax exemptions on in-state bonds. Several justices appeared to favor Kentucky's arguments, with Justice Stevens pointing out that 49 states filed an amicus brief in support of Kentucky, and Chief Justice John Roberts noting that Congress hasn't made an effort to regulate state tax exemptions for in-state bonds. AP has more.

The Court also heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] in CSX v. Georgia State Bd. of Equalization [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], 06-1287 [docket], in which it considered whether railroad companies can challenge a state's method of valuing railroad property in federal court using federal laws preventing state tax discrimination against railroads [49 USC 11501(b)(1) text]. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled [PDF text] that railroads were not explicitly permitted to challenge state valuation methods.

[JURIST] Iranian officials have halted formal attempts to stop an expected Interpol [official website] vote Wednesday to issue arrest notices [JURIST report] for six men thought to be connected with the 1994 bombing of a Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center [Wikipedia backgrounder], Interpol officials said Monday. Argentinean officials investigating the bombing, which killed 85 and wounded hundreds more, allege that Iran arranged the attack and used the Lebanese Hezbollah [party website, in Arabic; CFR backgrounder] to implement it. The Wednesday vote, which will take place during Interpol's general assembly, could place the five Iranian and one Lebanese suspects on the international police agency's "Red Notice," which would circulate the warrant worldwide and pave the way for extradition of the suspects. Iran had hinted it might seek to delay the vote until next year's assembly, but Interpol officials said Monday that the country had yet to submit a formal request. AP has more.

In March, Interpol agreed to issue arrest notices for the six men. Argentina had initially sought to have a number of high ranking Iranian officials arrested, including former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani [official website, in Farsi; JURIST report], but Interpol's Executive Committee [official website] approved notices for only five Iranians, including one for former Intelligence Chief Ali Fallahian, and an additional notice for a Lebanese militant. In August, an Iranian court issued a summons [JURIST report] for five Argentinean officials, accusing them of fabricating the case against Iran in connection with the bombing. Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in the attack.

[JURIST] The Maryland Court of Special Appeals [official website] Monday rejected an appeal for a new trial brought by convicted Washington, DC-area sniper John Allen Muhammad [BBC profile]. Muhammad had appealed the lower court's rulings that he was mentally competent to stand trial, and that he could represent himself. In the court's opinion [PDF text] affirming Muhammad's conviction Monday, Judge Charles Moylan [official profile] wrote that the lower court fully questioned Muhammad over his ability to represent himself, and that the exchange between Muhammad and the court "revealed a solid understanding on Muhammad's part of what was involved in such an undertaking." Moylan went on to find that Muhammad "freely and intelligently" invoked his right to self-representation, and "knowing[ly] and intelligent[ly]" waived his right to counsel. The unanimous decision also said that Muhammad had shown a competent understanding of the facts of the case, and had himself dismissed allegations that he was incompetent to stand trial. AP has more.

Muhammad was sentenced in Maryland last June to six consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole following his conviction [JURIST reports] by a Maryland jury of six counts of murder. Maryland prosecutors did not seek the death penalty but wanted a second conviction in case his earlier Virginia conviction [JURIST reports] was overturned on appeal. Muhammad was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005 in Virginia for shootings there. Accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo [BBC profile], who pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to the Virginia charges and received a life sentence, testified [JURIST report] in the Maryland case that Muhammad pulled the trigger in five of the six killings there.

[JURIST] The Fiji government Monday charged three people [press release] with plotting to assassinate current self-appointed Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama [BBC profile] in the wake of the 2006 military coup [JURIST report] which ousted former Fijian Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase [BBC profile] and installed Bainimarama last December. According to police Monday, sixteen men were arrested late Sunday and several, including some former military and government officers, have been charged with treason, inciting murder, and conspiracy to murder. The suspects are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday, and police have said that more arrests may be made.

December's government overthrow was the fourth coup [BBC backgrounder] in the nation during the past 20 years. At least one of the men charged Monday, former Fijian intelligence director Colonel Metuisela Mua, has previously served a prison sentence for his role in the 2000 coup. The latest coup was carried out after Qarase refused to stop proposed legislation that would have given coastal land ownership to the indigenous population of Fiji [JURIST news archive], rather than use it as a region for tourism, and also would have given pardons to individuals who plotted the coup in 2000. Last month, a Fijian court began hearing a case [JURIST report] brought by Qarase against Bainimarama that asserts that the 2006 coup was illegal. Reuters has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour [official website] Monday criticized the weekend imposition of a state of emergency [JURIST report] in Pakistan, saying that she was "alarmed by the suspension of fundamental rights" [press release] in the country. The former Canadian Supreme Court justice also questioned the propriety of imposing emergency rule in the face of alleged judicial interference with Pakistan's government: "A state of emergency should only be used to deal with a dire security threat to the nation, not to undermine the integrity and independence of the judiciary." Arbour expressed concern at reports that Pakistani security services have detained hundreds of lawyers, rights activists and opposition leaders [JURIST report], and urged the Pakistani government to clarify the status of the detained.

On Saturday, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf issued a proclamation of emergency rule [PDF text, JURIST report] ahead of a much anticipated Supreme Court ruling on whether Musharraf had been eligible to run for re-election [JURIST reports] for president while remaining chief of the army. Media reports suggested that the court had already prepared a ruling against Musharraf, but Musharraf's Provisional Constitution Order [text] barred the high court and any court from making "any order against the President or the Prime Minister or any person exercising powers or jurisdiction under this authority." AFP has more.

5:16 PM ET - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon issued a separate statement [text] Monday expressing his "strong dismay" at Pakistan's detention of hundreds of human rights and opposition activists, including UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Asma Jahangir [official profile, PDF], the head of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan who was taken into custody and put under house arrest Sunday. Ban urged the Pakistani government to "immediately release those detained, to lift restrictions on the media and to take early steps for a return to democratic rule."

11/06/07 - In an e-mail from house arrest circulated to various Pakistan blogs Monday, UN Special Rapporteur Asma Jahangir said:

The situation in the country is uncertain. There is a strong crackdown on the press and lawyers. Majority of the judges of the Supreme Court and four High Courts have not taken oath. The Chief Justice is under house arrest (unofficially). The President of the Supreme Court Bar (Aitzaz Ahsan) and 2 former presidents, Mr. Muneer Malik and Tariq Mahmood have been imprisoned for one month under the Preventive Detention laws. The resident of the Lahore High Court Mr. Ahsan Bhoon and former bar leader Mr. Ali Ahmed Kurd have also been arrested. The police is looking or 6 other lawyers, including President of Peshawar and Karachi bar. The President of Lahore bar is also in hiding. There are other scores political leaders who have also been arrested. Yesterday I was house arrested for 90 days. I am sending my detention order (please click here):

Ironically the President (who has lost his marbles) said that he had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism. Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires. Lawyers and civil society will challenge the government and the scene is likely to get uglier.We want friends of Pakistan to urge the US administration to stop all support of the instable dictator, as his lust for power is bringing the country close to a worse form of civil strife. It is not time for the international community to insist on preventive measures, otherwise cleaning up the mess may take decades. There are already several hundred IDPs and the space for civil society has hopelessly shrunk.

We believe that Musharaf has to be taken out of the equation and a government of national reconciliation put in place. It must be backed by the military. Short of this there are no realistic solutions, although there are no guarantees that this may work.

[JURIST] The US House Judiciary Committee [official website] submitted a report [PDF text] Monday to the House clerk accusing White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and former White House legal counsel Harriet Miers [official profiles] of contempt for repeatedly failing to comply with subpoenas relating to the committee's investigation into the US Attorneys firing scandal [JURIST news archive]. The White House responded [press briefing transcript] that the sought information is protected by executive privilege and that both Miers and Bolten are immune from prosecution. In a Monday letter [PDF text; press release] to White House counsel Fred Fielding, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) [official website] urged White House officials to comply with subpoenas, warning that they have until November 9 to respond.

In July, the US House Judiciary Committee voted [JURIST report] to issue contempt of Congress citations [backgrounder; 2 USC Sec. 192] against Bolten and Miers. The full House will decide whether to sanction the two for their refusal to comply with the subpoenas. Conyers has said that an investigation [report, PDF] has "uncovered serious evidence of wrongdoing by the department and White House staff" in connection to the firings and the administration's handling of the ensuing investigation. Contempt of Congress is a federal misdemeanor that carries a fine of up to $100,000 and one-year imprisonment. AP has more.

[JURIST] A suspect implicated in the July, 21 2005 failed bomb attacks on London's subway and bus systems [JURIST news archive] pleaded guilty Monday and was sentenced to six years and nine months imprisonment. Adel Yahya, who had previously been on trial in July for conspiracy to murder, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of collecting information useful for terrorism.

In July, British Judge Adrian Fulford discharged the jury in the trial of Yahya and another defendant after the jurors indicated they were deadlocked in deliberations [JURIST report]. Prosecutors have elected to retry the other defendant, Manfo Kwaku Asiedu, on conspiracy to murder charges. Asiedu's trial is scheduled to begin on November 12. Four other defendants, convicted of conspiracy to murder by the same jury, have been sentenced to life in prison [JURIST reports]. The four defendants had attempted to detonate explosives just two weeks after a similar attack that killed 52 people [JURIST news archive]. Reuters has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] on Monday granted certiorari [Order List, PDF] in Arave v. Hoffman (07-110) [docket; cert. petition, PDF] to consider whether a death row inmate in Idaho should be able to accept a plea bargain after his conviction based on an argument that the deal was rejected because of bad advice from his lawyer. Convicted of murder in 1989, Maxwell Alton appealed and argued that he should be allowed to take the plea bargain after the fact. Alton initially rejected the plea bargain due to his lawyer's advice that that Idaho's death penalty system would soon be overturned.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit accepted Hoffman's argument [opinion, PDF] and ordered the lower court to direct the state to release Hoffman or offer him the original plea bargain. AP has more.

[JURIST] Former US Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a Monday New York Times op-ed that he supports granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies [JURIST report] that complied with government requests for phone records following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Ashcroft's comments come as the Senate Judiciary Committee [official website] is considering the FISA Amendments Act of 2007 [PDF text], which includes a provision granting immunity to telecommunications companies from privacy lawsuits related to their participation in the NSA warrantless surveillance program [JURIST news archive]. Ashcroft commented that:

There are many complex and difficult issues associated with these debates, but whether to terminate the huge lawsuits that have been filed against the nation's major telecommunications carriers accused of cooperating with classified counterterrorism programs is not one of them. Whatever one feels about the underlying intelligence activities or the legal basis on which they were initially established, it would be unfair and contrary to the interests of the United States to allow litigation that tries to hold private telecommunications companies liable for them.

At the outset, it is critical to understand what the immunity provisions the administration and Congress have negotiated actually do. This is not "blanket immunity," as it is sometimes caricatured by its opponents. The Senate bill would confer immunity in only two limited circumstances: if the carrier did not do what the plaintiffs claim; or if the carrier did do what the plaintiffs claim but based on explicit assurances from the highest levels of the government that the activities in question were authorized by the president and determined to be lawful.

Longstanding principles of law hold that an American corporation is entitled to rely on assurances of legality from officials responsible for government activities. The public officials in question might be right or wrong about the advisability or legality of what they are doing, but it is their responsibility, not the company's, to deal with the consequences if they are wrong.

To deny immunity under these circumstances would be extraordinarily unfair to any cooperating carriers. By what principle of justice should anyone face potentially ruinous liability for cooperating with intelligence activities that are authorized by the president and whose legality has been reviewed and approved by our most senior legal officials?

[JURIST] Pakistani security services pressed ahead with arrests of leading lawyers across Pakistan Monday as the government sought to suppress dissent against Saturday's declaration of emergency rule [JURIST report] by President Pervez Musharraf. In addition to hundreds arrested after riot police clashed with lawyers at the Lahore High Court [JURIST report], at least 25 lawyers in Karachi - including the president of the Karachi Bar Association - were arrested after an anti-emergency demonstration there. Some 41 lawyers were arrested in Rawalpindi, again including the head of the local bar association. More lawyers were arrested in demonstrations and house raids in other cities. From Pakistan, the News has more. PakTribune has additional coverage.

Dismissed Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry told the News Sunday night in his first public statements [News report] since being put under effective house arrest himself on Saturday that despite the wave of detentions he was confident that the rule of law in Pakistan would be restored. He called Musharraf's Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) [text] purporting to suspend the country's constitution "illegal" and against the direction of the Supreme Court, which under his leadership had issued an order blocking the emergency measures [text] Saturday while its building was blockaded by troops and police. He said that new judges sworn in under the PCO were acting without legal authority. Chaudhry defended the judiciary against Musharraf's allegations in the declaration of emergency [PDF] that it was soft on terrorism, saying judges could not convict without evidence and that he had set up a commission to make recommendations on how to expedite terrorism-related cases.

Pakistan Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said Sunday in an interview with Pakistan's Dawn newspaper that the size of the country's new Supreme Court under the PCO could be reduced from 19 to 13, 12 or even 10. So far the court is comprised of only four judges willing to take PCO oaths, including new Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who on Sunday said that the Chaudhry court's order against the PCO was invalid [JURIST report] and had not been issued by the court (presumably as reconstituted). Dawn has more.

2:08 PM ET - Dismissed Chief Justice Chaudhry said Monday in a new statement reported by Dawn that he had been placed under virtual arrest after an Army major locked his residence and took away his keys. Dawn says other judges have also been confined in the Judges Enclave in Islamabad with their families and have not been allowed to leave, although some require medical assistance. From Karachi, the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court also told Dawn that security forces have prevented him from leaving his house. Dawn has continuing coverage.

[JURIST] Parliamentary elections in Pakistan will be held in mid-January as scheduled, despite Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's weekend proclamation of emergency rule [JURIST report], Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Monday. Aziz's comments came amid fears that the elections would be postponed because of the imposition of emergency rule and ensuing demonstrations [JURIST report] by Pakistani lawyers throughout the country, several of which turned violent as police made hundreds of arrests.

Musharraf made the emergency declaration Saturday as the country anticipated a Supreme Court ruling [JURIST reports] on whether he had been eligible to run for re-election [JURIST report] as Pakistan's president while still army chief. Media reports suggested that the court had already prepared a ruling against Musharraf but had not yet released it. A Provisional Constitution Order [text] issued by Musharraf barred the high court or any court from making "any order against the President or the Prime Minister or any person exercising powers or jurisdiction under this authority."

The crisis in Pakistan has spurred several Western countries to reconsider their aid to Pakistan and to press for a return of constitutional process in the country. On Saturday, the US State Department called the crisis a "setback for democracy" [press statement; JURIST report] and the US later suspended cooperation talks with Pakistan for the upcoming week. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] Eleven more detainees have been transferred from Guantanamo Bay [press release], the US Defense Department said Sunday. According to the DOD announcement, eight detainees were transferred to Afghanistan and three were transferred to Jordan. The names of the eleven men were not released. In October, another six detainees were transferred to Afghanistan [JURIST report].

With the transfer, about 320 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive]. The Defense Department [official website] has indicated that approximately 80 detainees at Guantanamo are currently eligible to be transferred off the base, and the terms of their departure are the focus of ongoing discussions between the US and the detainees' home nations. In August, US President George W. Bush said that while he hopes that the prison can eventually be closed, other countries have been reluctant to accept the detainees [JURIST report]. AP has more.

[JURIST] Italian opposition leader and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] on Sunday urged Italy to ban Romanian workers from entering Italy, while conservative ally Gianfranco Fini suggested that Italy should expel 20,000 Romanian workers in response to a wave of violent crimes blamed on foreigners. Romanian workers have been detained in several recent crimes, and statisticians say foreigners commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes in Italy. Romanians entered Italy en mass looking for jobs following Romania's entrance into the European Union earlier this year.

Last week, the Italian Cabinet gave authorities the power to expel EU citizens with criminal records or people deemed dangerous to public safety, and Italian authorities have already begun deporting Romanians [BBC reports]. Parliament still must approve the measure, and moderate Prime Minister Romano Prodi [official profile] has a narrow majority to defeat the measure. Romania's government has already warned Italy that their actions could lead to widespread xenophobia in Italy, but the European Union has said the plan does not violate EU law [Daily Mail report]. A Romanian was arrested in the death of the wife of an Italian naval commander Friday, sparking reprisal attacks [AFP report] on Romanian workers over the weekend. AP has more.

[JURIST] Amidst discussions among members of the Bush administration on closing the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive], officials are considering providing detainees expanded court access and transferring them to federal custody in the United States, the New York Times reported Sunday. Under the current approach backed by the White House, military Combatant Status Review Tribunals [DOD materials] review whether a detainee is properly held, a procedure where detainees have limited access to evidence and defense lawyers. If detainees were moved to the US after Guantanamo was closed, the detainees would be provided legal representation at hearings to review their detention, which would be presided over by federal judges.

According to the Times, some administration officials are pushing for expanded rights for detainees before the US Supreme Court has an opportunity to accord them greater rights this term in Boumediene v. Bush [JURIST report; JURIST comment], where the Court will hear a challenge to an appeals court decision [PDF text; JURIST report] upholding the habeas corpus-stripping provision of the Military Commission Act (MCA) [PDF text; JURIST news archive] as applied to "enemy combatants."

Other administration officials have argued that transferring 200 suspected terrorists to the US and granting them substantial legal rights would threaten national security. The Times reported that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates [official profile] has in the past few weeks called on his advisers to propose a Guantanamo closure plan.

The Bush administration has been facing growing pressure [JURIST report] to close down the facilities at Guantanamo. In October, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism Martin Scheinin [official website] called on the US in a report [DOC text] to quickly prosecute or release terror suspects [UN report, DOC; JURIST report] detained at Guantanamo so that the US can close the detention center. US President George W. Bush said in August that he wants to shut down [JURIST report] the detention facility, but that other countries have shown reluctance to accept detainees. The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] An Egyptian court sentenced two police officers to three years in prison Monday for torturing a bus driver [AP report] after video clips [AP report] of the incident circulated on video-sharing website YouTube [media website]. Islam Nabih, a police captain, and Reda Fathi, a non-commissioned officer, sodomized and beat Emad el-Kabir in 2006 while videoing the incident on a cell phone. Egyptian bloggers posted the video on the Internet later that year before it appeared on YouTube. Police said el-Kabir had been detained for trying to stop an argument between a family member and police. He was released and later jailed for resisting arrest.

El-Kabir's case marks the first in Egypt that involved a video clip on the Internet. Other videos of torture incidents have appeared on Egyptian blogs, and human rights activists hope the conviction of Habih and Fathi will set a precedent for future cases. In May, an Egyptian court sentenced a television reporter [JURIST report] with Al Jazeera [media website] to six months in prison for producing a film that depicted police torture. Egyptian authorities said the footage was a reenactment of actual scenes of torture by actors. Human rights groups maintain that torture is commonplace in Egyptian police stations, but Egyptian authorities have denied the allegations. in April, Amnesty International released a report [text; JURIST report] criticizing Egypt for systematic human rights abuses of detainees in its police stations, military camps and centers run by State Security Investigations. AP has more.

[JURIST] Pakistani riot police and security forces fired tear gas at dark-suited lawyers and law students assembled at the High Court in Lahore [official website] Monday and charged them with batons as some 2000 demonstrated against President Pervez Musharraf's Saturday proclamation of emergency rule [JURIST report], suspension of the constitution and dismissal of the country's Supreme Court. The initially-peaceful demonstration in Lahore was part of a nationwide lawyers protest [JURIST reports] called by bar groups Sunday. The protesting lawyers responded to the police violence by throwing stones at the police, beating security officials with tree branches, and throwing back tear gas canisters. The police stopped the protesters from leaving the High Court compound and eventually stormed the buildings including the bar room, the auditoriums, the infirmary and the offices where lawyers had gathered to avoid the tear gas. Several lawyers and judges were injured as they were struck by batons and violently manhandled. An AP reporter saw about 250 lawyers taken away in police vans. Some actively resisted arrest, others gestured defiance after being taken into custody.

One lawyer who was gassed told JURIST afterwards that "it was a horrific day in the history of Lahore High Court":

...the entire premises were crowded by police personnel belonging to the armed forces. Excessive tear gas, excessive baton charges [were used] without any discrimination between old and young, man and woman. Almost 1200 have been arrested.

It was a horrible example of a police state. When the protesters tried to move out of the high court, the police and various security agencies came into the compound, tear gassed and baton charged brutally. They broke into every place where people were trying to take cover including the high court library and medical centre. Every one there was arrested and taken away in prisoner vans. Even ladies were not spared from the action. Some including a retired lady judge of the high court were injured in the head.

ARE YOU IN PAKISTAN?  Were you involved in the lawyers protest? What do you think of emergency rule? Email JURIST@pitt.edu