[JURIST] Turkish Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said Tuesday that a new bill to reform a controversial law [Amnesty backgrounder; JURIST news archive] that criminalizes insults to Turkish identity will go before the Turkish parliament soon. He did not say how exactly the bill would alter the law. Critics contend Turkey has used the law to silence government critics, a practice which has presented a stumbling block [JURIST report] to the nation's proposed accession to the European Union (EU). Sahin's announcement comes after EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn [official website] Tuesday released a report [PDF text] on Turkish progress toward EU membership that criticized the law and said that it needed to be "brought in line with relevant EU standards." BBC News has more. AP has additional coverage.

Many prominent Turkish journalists, authors, and academics have been investigated and tried for insulting "Turkishness" [JURIST report] under Article 301 of Turkey's penal code [text, in Turkish]. In 2006, Armenian journalist Hrant Dink [BBC profile] was tried [JURIST report] for allegedly violating Article 301 by writing about the killings of an estimated million Ottoman Armenians [ANI backgrounder] in the early 20th century. Turkish novelists Elif Shafak [Armeniapedia profile] and Orhan Pamuk [JURIST news archive] have also been charged under the article for discussing the alleged Armenian genocide.

[JURIST] The Uruguayan Senate passed a bill Tuesday that partially decriminalizes abortion [JURIST news archive], but the proposal may not have the support needed to override the veto promised by Uruguyan President Tabare Vazquez [BBC profile]. According to the draft law, a mother may terminate her pregnancy during the first 12 weeks to prevent risks to her health, birth deformities, economic hardship, or other family problems. While the measure passed the Senate by a vote of 18-13, 19 votes in the Senate are needed to overcome a veto. The bill is expected to pass the House of Representatives [official website], and supporters are still hopeful that they may muster the votes needed to enact the law.

Uruguay joins most Latin American countries in its restrictive abortion laws. Abortion is completely illegal in Nicaragua [JURIST report], Chile, El Salvador, and the Dominican Republic [HRW reports]. Brazil [HRW report] permits abortion when a mother's life is endangered or when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. In countries such as Colombia [JURIST report] and Argentina [HRW report], criminal penalties may be decreased when the mother's life is at risk. Although Mexico City legalized abortion [JURIST report] in some circumstances in April, it is still illegal in the rest of Mexico [HRW report]. Cuba [ISP report] is the only country in the region in which abortion is not illegal. Observa has more.

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Tuesday issued a one-sentence ruling rejecting an appeal from Canadian Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [JURIST news archive] challenging a US Court of Military Commission Review (CMCR) [DOD materials] decision to send Khadr's case back to a military tribunal. In June, a military commission judge dropped war crimes charges against Khadr as improper, but the charges were reinstated [JURIST reports] in September. Khadr filed his appeal with the DC Circuit in October after the CMCR refused to reconsider [JURIST reports] the reinstatement. Last month, US Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers argued [motion, PDF; JURIST report] that the DC Circuit did not have jurisdiction to hear Khadr's appeal under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) [S 3930 materials], which states that no civilian court can consider an appeal of a war crimes case until a military court has issued a final judgment on it. A military tribunal will now consider whether Khadr is simply an "enemy combatant," or whether he is an "unlawful enemy combatant" under the MCA and therefore subject to military trial.

Khadr was detained in Afghanistan in 2002 after allegedly throwing a grenade that killed one US soldier and wounded another while fighting with the Taliban. He is charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism, as well as spying. AP has more.

[JURIST] Human rights groups, including the The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, on Tuesday called for a government investigation [IACHR press release] into a fire that killed at least 32 prisoners in northern Argentina [JURIST news archive] on Sunday following a riot at the facility. The government claims that the fire, which detainees at the Santiago del Estero facility started, was part of a failed escape attempt; family members report that the prisoners were protesting conditions of their detention. The Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) cited overcrowding and lack of security at the prison [press release] as the reason for the deaths. CELS reported that in addition to crowded conditions, 276 of the 444 persons detained there had not yet been sentenced.

Human rights groups have repeatedly expressed concern [AI report; HRW report] about conditions of detention facilities in Argentina, where reports [AI report] of prisoners being abused and killed in custody have been common. In 2005, a similar incident killed 32 people in a Buenos Aires prison, and prison officials were blamed for abandoning the detainees when the fire started. CNN has more. Clarin has local coverage, in Spanish.

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website; JURIST news archive] heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Tuesday in Federal Express Corp. v. Holowecki [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs], 06-1322, to determine whether an age discrimination lawsuit against FedEx [corporate website] was filed properly. FedEx seeks to overturn a US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision [PDF text] holding that an "intake questionnaire" submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) [official website] met the requirements of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) [text]. The ADEA requires that plaintiffs alleging discrimination notify the EEOC and wait 60 days before filing a lawsuit against an employer so that the EEOC may notify the company and investigate the charges. FedEx alleges that the plaintiffs filed suit before notifying the EEOC, but the plaintiffs say that they complied with the law and any failure to notify FedEx was the fault of the EEOC itself. Chief Justice John Roberts questioned Tuesday whether "government incompetence" in failing to notify FedEx should lead to a loss for the plaintiffs. AP has more.

The Court also heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Tuesday in John R. Sand & Gravel Co. v. US [Duke Law case backgrounder; merit briefs ], 06-1164, in which it will consider whether the six year statute of limitations on Tucker Act [28 USC 2501 text] claims limits the jurisdiction of the US Court of Federal Claims [official website]. The Bush administration argued that the statute of limitation has consistently been held to be jurisdictional and that courts therefore are barred from entertaining actions filed after that limit. Lawyers for John R. Sand & Gravel Co. said that the statute of limitations is merely a claim-processing rule. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Labour Party government of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Tuesday unveiled its new legislative agenda [PM materials; BBC backgrounder] for the 2007-2008 session of Parliament, pledging to "seek a consensus on changes to the law on terrorism ... to protect the public, whilst preserving essential rights and liberties." In the Queen's Speech [text; recorded video], read by Queen Elizabeth II at the annual ceremonial opening of Parliament [British Monarchy backgrounder], the government announced proposals to raise the compulsory education age to 18, to increase the availability of affordable housing, and to create the world's first legally binding framework to reduce carbon dioxide emissions [BBC bill backgrounders]. Mention was also made of continuing reforms to the criminal justice system, a theme of last year's speech [text; JURIST report].

Altogether, the government laid out 29 individual bills for this session of Parliament, which will end in November 2008. This Queen's Speech was the first delivered on behalf of Brown's government since he took over from former PM Tony Blair [JURIST news archive] in June. BBC News has more.

[JURIST] EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini [official profile] Tuesday introduced a new package of counter terrorism proposals [press release; news conference recorded video] on behalf of the European Commission. Key provisions of the new counter-terrorism package include a proposal to amend the Framework Decision on combating terrorism [press release] to criminalize recruitment and training for terrorism, particularly when committed through the Internet.

The proposals also call for the implementation of an EU-wide system for the exchange of passenger name records. Frattini said in September that the European Commission was moving forward with plans to establish an EU-wide airline passenger data recording system [JURIST report] despite privacy concerns. In July, the EU and US reached a new agreement on passenger data-sharing [JURIST report] under which air carriers will transmit passenger data directly to the US Department of Homeland Security within 15 minutes of a European flight's departure for the US. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] James Edward Steph, a former oil executive of a subsidiary of Willbros Group Inc. [corporate website], pleaded guilty [press release] Monday to charges of conspiracy relating to a scheme to bribe Nigerian officials heading the country's state-owned oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) [corporate website]. According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website], Steph admitted to engaging in a conspiracy with other Willbros employees in 2003 to exchange payments totaling $6 million with NNPC officials, a Nigerian government official, and a Nigerian political party for a major construction and engineering contract on a base oil pipelines owned by NNPC. As part of the plea agreement, Steph, who was indicted [press release, PDF] in July, has agreed to cooperate with the DOJ's investigation into other violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) [text; DOJ backgrounder] in connection with Nigeria's oil industry. Steph also admitted that he conspired with Jim Bob Brown, a former Willbros executive who pleaded guilty [press release] in related bribery charges in 2006, to provide bribes totaling $1.8 million to Nigerian government officials in early 2005. Judge Sim Lake of the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas scheduled Steph's sentencing for January 25, 2008. Steph faces up to five years' imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000.

Willbros has entered into tentative settlement agreements [Tulsa World report] with the DOJ and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [official website] under which it will pay approximately $32.3 million for its violations of the FCPA related to bribes provided to officials in Bolivia, Nigeria and Ecuador. In September 2006, Steph's co-conspirator Brown settled [press release] civil claims [complaint, PDF] filed by the SEC connected to the bribery scandal. AP has more. The Houston Chronicle has additional coverage.

[JURIST] Former Venezuelan Defense Minister Raul Baduel spoke out against the constitutional reforms pushed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] on Monday, claiming that the proposed reforms would deprive the Venezuelan people of their power over the government and result in a virtual coup by the president. The proposed reforms, which were overwhelmingly approved [JURIST report] by the Venezuelan National Assembly [official website] on Saturday, would amend the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits and augment the president's emergency powers. Baduel said that the reforms would effectively legitimize a coup d'etat and that voters should scrutinize the measure with suspicion. In order to become law, the proposed amendments must pass a general referendum to be held on December 2.

Baduel has become the most prominent former official to oppose the amendments, prompting Chavez to pronounce him a traitor [El Universal report] and a pawn of the right. The reforms have also been criticized by groups such as Human Rights Watch [advocacy website; press release] and opposition politicians [JURIST report], whose boycott of the 2005 elections has eliminated them from the legislature. A long-time ally of Chavez, Baduel helped the president overcome a 2002 coup and joined Chavez in his 1992 coup against former President Carlos Andres Perez. When Baduel retired from the Ministry in July, he first hinted at his dissatisfaction with the "socialist revolution," warning that it must avoid the pitfalls suffered by countries in Eastern Europe and Asia that sought to implement similar governments. CNN has more. El Pais has additional coverage [in Spanish].

[JURIST] Yahoo! Inc. [corporate website] Chief Executive Jerry Yang and General Counsel Michael Callahan [written testimonies, PDF] Tuesday defended Yahoo's behavior in providing information to the Chinese government at a hearing [HCFA materials; JURIST report] before the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs [official website], saying that the company could not ask local employees in China to refuse to comply with lawful government demands even if Yahoo! disagreed with the Chinese action. The information mostly concerned reporter Shi Tao [JURIST report], who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for divulging state secrets abroad. Callahan apologized [JURIST report] Friday to members of the Committee for failing to clarify his prior testimony before the Committee regarding Yahoo's involvement in providing information to the Chinese government about Shi. Callahan testified [statement, PDF] during a February 2006 hearing that Yahoo's subsidiary in China provided the Chinese government information about Shi without knowing why the information was requested, but later that year discovered that the information was requested as part of a Chinese investigation into state secrets.

Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) criticized [statement] Callahan and Yahoo! for providing false information to the Committee in February 2006 and for failing to subsequently correct the misinformation:

Yahoo! claims that this is just one big misunderstanding, that Yahoo's false testimony was really just a matter of an internal miscommunication. Let me be clear – this was no misunderstanding. This was inexcusably negligent behavior at best, and deliberately deceptive behavior at worst. I wish to repeat this: This was inexcusably negligent behavior at best, and deliberately deceptive behavior at worst. In preparing for testimony before this Committee, Yahoo! did not see fit to hire a translator to make sure the document upon which it relied for its entire defense was translated properly. Mr. Callahan never asked to see the document. And the Yahoo! lawyer who had it – by Yahoo!'s own explanation – failed to consider the document "significant," even after Congress ordered Yahoo! to appear to answer directly on this outrage, which landed an innocent Chinese journalist in prison for a decade. Yahoo's own lawyers in Beijing also had the document, and knew full well its meaning. Either Yahoo! has little regard for providing full and complete information to a duly constituted committee of the Congress, or it has little regard for the issue of protecting human rights.

[JURIST] Pakistani police Tuesday arrested more lawyers involved in protesting President Pervez Musharraf's Saturday declaration of emergency, suspension of the constitution, and effective dismissal of Pakistan's Supreme Court. AFP reports that some 50 lawyers were arrested at the Lahore High Court a day after a larger protest there escalated into violence [JURIST report]. Police took over the bar room of the local bar association and took away those who came in. Another 50 lawyers were arrested in other centers, including Multan in central Pakistan and in the southern city of Quetta. PPI reported that police registered cases against about 100 local lawyers in the city of Sialkot and arrested nine. Police in Daska registered against 76 lawyers and arrested 16 of them in connection with violence at a protest demonstration there on Monday. In Pasrur, seven lawyers were arrested. Dawn provides continuing coverage.

Local media said, however, that overall the situation in the country on Tuesday was calmer. Observers have suggested that the capacity of the country's bar to mount effective opposition to Musharraf's emergency declaration may be limited as an increasing number of leading lawyers - including the heads of many local bar associations - have been taken into custody or otherwise detained. The presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association, the Lahore High Court Bar, the Sindh High Court Bar, the Lahore Bar Association, the Karachi Bar Association, and the Balochistan High Court Bar have all been arrested. Geo TV has more.

[JURIST] A federal jury sitting in San Diego Monday convicted former US defense contractor Brent Wilkes of 13 felonies, including money laundering, fraud and conspiracy, in connection with bribes he paid to disgraced former Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham [official profile]. Wilkes pleaded not guilty to all charges, but the jury found that he paid more than $600,000 in bribes, including vacations and prostitutes, to Cunningham in exchange for millions of dollars worth of US military contracts. According to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California [official website], many of the contracts awarded to Wilkes provided services that were not needed or computer equipment sold at a substantial markup. Wilkes' sentencing has been scheduled for January 28, 2008, and he faces up to 20 years' imprisonment. Wilkes' lawyer said that he will appeal the verdict.

Wilkes has been under investigation since Cunningham pleaded guilty in 2005 [JURIST report] to taking $2.4 million in bribes in return for federal contracts. Wilkes has maintained his innocence since he was indicted by a grand jury [JURIST report] in February along with former CIA executive director Kyle "Dusty" Foggo for their involvement in the Cunningham case. Additionally, Wilkes faces trial for charges that he bribed Foggo with gifts and vacations in exchange for CIA contracts. The New York Times has more. The San Diego Union-Tribune has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The newly-reconstituted Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] officially ruled Tuesday that the order [text] against President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule issued Saturday by a seven-person Supreme Court bench led by now-dismissed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was "void, quroum non judice and passed without lawful authority," saying it "shall be deemed never to have been passed as Proclamation of Emergency and the Provisional Constitution Order were already issued by the President." Newly-installed Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar said Sunday that the order had never been given by the court [JURIST report], as its power had ended with the declaration of emergency which effectively dismissed the country's judges pending new oaths of office. APP has more.

The new Supreme Court, which has yet to reach its new reduced complement of twelve justices, is likely to revisit several politically-charged cases which had been pending before the former high court, most notably a challenge to the eligibility of President Pervez Musharraf to run for re-election while still Army Chief of Staff, and a challenge to the validity of a recent amnesty agreement [JURIST reports] reached between the Musharraf government and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, which allowed her to return from exile last month. The declaration of emergency [PDF text] issued by Musharraf Saturday contended that the country's judiciary had been a source of "increasing interference" in executive political affairs.

[JURIST] US District Judge Amy St. Eve [official profile] of the Northern District of Illinois [official website] Monday rejected a motion [JURIST report] for a new trial or an acquittal filed by Canadian-born financier and former media mogul Conrad Black [JURIST news archive; CBC profile] in August after his conviction [JURIST report] on mail fraud and obstruction of justice charges in July. Former Hollinger executives John Boultbee, Peter Atkinson and Mark Kipnis, also convicted of fraud, similarly filed concurrent motions for new trials or acquittals in August. St. Eve Monday overturned one of Kipnis' mail fraud convictions, but affirmed all of the other convictions. All four defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on November 30. CTV News has more.

Black was accused [indictment, PDF] by the US government of diverting more than $80 million [JURIST report] from media company Hollinger International [corporate website] and its shareholders during the company's $2.1 billion sale of several hundred Canadian newspapers. He was found not guilty on separate charges of racketeering, wire fraud, and tax evasion. His conviction on the three mail fraud and obstruction of justice counts could lead to a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and fines of up to $1 million.

[JURIST] Wire services are reporting that the US Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-8 Tuesday in favor of the nomination of former federal judge Michael Mukasey [WH profile; JURIST news archive] to serve as the next US attorney general. Mukasey's nomination [SJC materials] now goes to the full US Senate for a final vote. Though most Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted against the nomination, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) joined Republicans on the panel in supporting the nomination [JURIST report]. Several senators on the committee, including committee Chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), balked at voting for Mukasey [JURIST report] over his refusal to unequivocally denounce waterboarding [JURIST news archive] as torture.

In his opening statement [text] at Tuesday's hearing [SJC materials], Leahy said:

Nothing is more fundamental to our constitutional democracy than our basic notion that no one is above the law. This Administration has undercut that precept time after time. They are now trying to do it again, with an issue as fundamental as whether the United States of America will join the ranks of those governments that approve of torture. This President and Vice President should not be allowed to violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture and the Geneva Conventions or disregard U.S. statutes such as our Detainee Treatment Act and War Crimes Act. They should not be allowed to overturn more than 200 years of our Nation's human rights and moral leadership around the world.

The Administration has compounded its lawlessness by cloaking its policies and miscalculations under a veil of secrecy, leaving Congress, the courts, and the American people in the dark about what they are doing. The President says that we do not torture, but had his lawyers redefine torture down in secret memos, in fundamental conflict with American values and law. ...

Some have sought to find comfort in Judge Mukasey's personal assurance that he would enforce a future, new law against waterboarding if this Congress were to pass one. Unsaid, of course, is the fact that any such prohibition would have to be enacted over the veto of this President.

But the real damage of this argument is not its futility. The real harm is that it presupposes that we do not already have laws and treaty obligations against waterboarding. In fact, we do. No Senator should abet this Administration's legalistic obfuscations by those such as Alberto Gonzales, John Yoo, and David Addington by agreeing that the laws on the books do not already make waterboarding illegal. We have been prosecuting water torture for more than 100 years. ...

I wish that I could support Judge Mukasey's nomination. I like Michael Mukasey. But this is an Administration that has been acting outside the law and an Administration that has now created a "confirmation contortion." When many of us voted to confirm General Petreas, the Administration turned around and, for political advantage, tried to claim that when we voted to confirm the nominee, we also voted for the President's war policies. Just as I do not support this President's Iraq policy, I do not support his torture policy or his views of unaccountability or unlimited Executive power.

No one is more eager to restore strong leadership and independence to the Department of Justice than I. What we need most right now is an Attorney General who believes and understands that there must be limitations on Executive power. America needs to be certain of the bedrock principles in our laws and our values that no President and no American can be authorized to violate. Accordingly, I vote no on the President's nomination.

[JURIST] A Chadian prosecutor Monday questioned Europeans detained for attempting to airlift 103 children [JURIST news archive] from Chad, including three Spanish flight crew members and five workers from the French charity Zoe's Ark [advocacy website, in French; BBC backgrounder]. Six French nationals have been charged with kidnapping [JURIST report], while the flight crew members have been charged with complicity in kidnapping. Four Chadian officials are also being investigated for their alleged roles in the attempted airlift.

On Sunday, a top official with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) [official website] said the attempted airlift violated international law. Although Zoe's Ark officials said the children were orphans from Darfur, UNICEF found that they were mostly from villages in Chad and were not actually orphans [press release]. AFP has more

[JURIST] The Federal Court of Canada ruled [PDF text] Monday that Amnesty International and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association [advocacy website] should be granted public interest standing to seek judicial review of the actions or potential actions of Canadian military personnel deployed in Afghanistan, rejecting the Canadian government's motion to strike the rights groups' application on the grounds that the groups lacked standing and the issue was political in nature. The court also rejected the government's contention that the suit was "so clearly improper as to be bereft of any possibility of success." The rights groups argue that Canadian forces deployed in Afghanistan are bound by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms [text] and allege that Canadian personnel transferring Afghan prisoners have violated the Charter's prohibition against the deprivation of life, liberty, and security of the person except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice [Section 7] and the prohibition against cruel and unusual treatment or punishment [Section 12].

In October, the Canadian government rejected allegations that Afghan detainees captured by Canadian troops were tortured by Afghan interrogators after being transferred from Canadian custody. In February, allegations of detainee mistreatment [JURIST report] surfaced suggesting that more than 30 terrorism suspects had been tortured after being transferred. An independent investigation found no evidence [press release; JURIST report] that the Canadian military "aided or abetted the torture of detainees." As a result of public outcry, Canada signed a new agreement regarding detainee transfers [JURIST report] with the Afghan government, giving Canada the right to inspect detainees following their transfer. The Canadian government however, has limited an ongoing probe [JURIST report] to detainee abuse allegations under Canadian custody. New abuse allegations arose last month, but the Canadian government has denied the claims [JURIST report], saying that Taliban detainees frequently make false accusations of torture. The Canadian Press has more.

[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe ruled Monday that the Zimbabwean government can legally expropriate the agricultural equipment of white farmers under the Acquisition of Farm Equipment Act [DOC text], finding that the government expropriated the equipment with the public purpose of advancing the country's farm seizure program [JURIST article], which seeks to redistribute white-owned land. White farmers who challenged the law argued that the program did not further a public purpose and that the government did not provide fair compensation within a reasonable time.

The Zimbabwean government has expropriated approximately 4,000 farms farms through its controversial program, which was implemented following constitutional reforms [JURIST report] in 2005. In February 2006, the Zimbabwean land minister said that there were no longer any white farmers operating legally in Zimbabwe [JURIST report]. Several white farmers are facing criminal charges [JURIST report] over their refusal to obey state-sponsored eviction orders. Zimbabwe's inflation rate, which is reportedly exceeding 5,000 percent, is largely attributed to the seizures as productive farms have failed under new inexperienced farmers. The Herald has more.

[JURIST] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [BBC profile] said Monday that he views a decision by US lawmakers to postpone debate [JURIST report] on a resolution [HR 106 materials; text] labeling as genocide the World War I-era killings of over one million Armenians by Turkish soldiers [ANCA backgrounder] with "cautious optimism." Erdogan commented Monday after talks with US President George W. Bush, thanking the Bush administration and House members who opposed the bill. Turkey has long objected [JURIST comment] to any attempts to classify the 1915 Armenian killings as genocide. Several other countries - including France, Canada and Argentina - have nonetheless passed laws or resolutions [BBC backgrounder] to that effect.

The proposed legislation was approved by the House Foreign Relations Committee last month and was expected to reach the floor [JURIST reports] before Congress recessed for the year. Four of the bill's primary supporters sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressing concern over the possibility of the resolution failing a House vote amid apprehension over the resolution's effect on US-Turkey relations. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice last month told Congress that the resolution could "severely harm" US-Turkish relations [JURIST report]. AFP has more.

[JURIST] Pakistan's Attorney General Malik Qayyum told Pakistan's News daily Monday night that the government has reduced the size of the Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] to 12 and would elevate lower court judges to fill out the complement of the restructured court as most of its original justices have refused to take a new oath under the President Pervez Musharraf's Provisional Constitution Order [text] implemented under Saturday's declaration of emergency [PDF text]. Only five justices of the pre-emergency Supreme Court complement of 19 have endorsed Musharraf's order. The remainder have apparently been placed under effective house arrest [JURIST report], including former Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [JURIST news archive]. Qayyum said four lower judges had agreed to take oaths as Supreme Court judges and that the government was trying to persuade two more. He said that the restaffed high court would reconsider the election case that had been awaiting decision prior to the declaration of emergency and that the "government would win the case", according to the News.

Former Justice Raza Khan, one of the justices confined, meanwhile told the News that he had refused to take an oath of office under Musharraf's order because emergency rule was akin to martial law. In the same vein, former Justice Rana Bhagwan Das said judges who have agreed to serve under Musharraf's order would violate the constitution if they open the courts for proceedings. An order [text] issued by seven members of the Chaudhry-led Supreme Court on Saturday while it was under seige by police and troops sent in under the emergency declaration explicitly barred civic and military officials from taking oaths under the new PCO. IE has more. ANI has additional coverage. The News has local coverage.

11:51 AM - The additional four justices sworn in Tuesday by new Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar are Ijaz-ul-Hassan, Muhammad Qaim Jan Khan, Mohammad Moosa K. Legariand Ijaz Yousaf. They join Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, M. Javed Buttar and Saiyed Saeed Ashhad, bringing the total complement on the court to 8.

[JURIST] Dismissed Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry [JURIST news archive] Tuesday urged lawyers in Pakistan to resist President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule [JURIST report] and "stand up for the constitution." Speaking by telephone to a gathering of lawyers in the capital Islamabad, Chaudhry, currently under effective house arrest, said according to an AFP report, "I want lawyers to spread my message, the time for sacrifice has come". He called on the lawyers to "Tell people about this illegal and unconstitutional emergency", suggesting that the real reason for the decree was fear of an anticipated court ruling [JURIST report] against Musharraf's eligibility to run for re-election as president while still Army Chief of Staff: "The ruling junta was afraid that the court would rule against them but police are aware that the Supreme Court has always held constitution above all else and provided justice to the people". "Don't be afraid...", Chaudhry declared according to AP, "God will help us and the day will come when you'll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time." Mobile phone service in Islamabad was cut off during Chaudhry's address, but it was unclear whether the interruption was an intentional effort to interfere with his speech. AP has more.

In a statement smuggled out of Chaudhry's residence and published by the London Independent Tuesday, Chaudhry offered an extended perspective on the situation:

The whole of the judiciary of Pakistan is struggling for the supremacy of the constitution. The Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO)|issued by General Musharraf has been declared a step to interfere in the independence of the judiciary, and therefore a judicial 'restraining' order against it had been issued by a seven-member bench of the Supreme Court, which has to be respected and enforced.

Any action by the government after the passing of this order is illegal, including the detention of lawyers and members of civil society whose only sin is that they opposed the emergency and the PCO. Up to 13 justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan have refused to take an oath under the PCO. Yesterday morning,the judges of the Supreme Court were stopped as they sought to carry out their judicial duty, including the hearing of a case by the full court regarding the PCO, about which the restraining order had been passed.

This order has been passed and those who defy it, defy the constitution. I and all the judges of the Supreme Court were exercising our jurisdiction in accordance with the law and constitution and are determined to do so in the future.