[JURIST] Venezuelans went to the polls on Sunday to vote on a controversial set of constitutional reforms [JURIST news archive] proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez [BBC profile]. The two-part referendum will determine the fate of 69 proposed constitutional amendments [JURIST report] that would extend the presidential term from six to seven years, eliminate the limit on the number of terms a president may serve, bring the currently independent Central Bank under the control of the government, and give the government greater authority to expropriate private property without court approval. Election officials have yet to tabulate the results, but Juan Salas Franco, a Spanish official serving as an international election observer, reported [Miami Herald report] a “low turnout everywhere,” with fewer people than expected voting in Chávez strongholds and anti-Chávez neighborhoods alike.

Chávez has touted the constitutional changes as necessary to advance Venezuela's socialist revolution. Human Rights Watch has warned that the reforms would violate international law [press release] by allowing the president to suspend due process guarantees during times of emergency, and UN experts have flagged concerns over the independence of the judiciary under the proposed amendments. Opposition politicians have accused Chavez [JURIST report] of using the constitutional reforms to consolidate his power. Although the Venezuelan National Assembly approved [JURIST report] the reforms by a 160-7 vote earlier this month, several prominent figures, including former Venezuelan Defense Minister Raul Baduel, have spoken out against the reforms [JURIST report]. Bloomberg has more. From Caracas, El Universal has local coverage.

[JURIST] US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte [JURIST news archive] said at the end of a visit to Baghdad Sunday that the US will hold Ali Hassan al-Majid [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], better known in the Western media as "Chemical Ali", and two other former members of Hussein's former regime condemned to death by an Iraqi tribunal until Iraqi leaders have agreed on their fate, reiterating a previous US position. On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki [BBC profile] formally asked US President George Bush to hand over al-Majid [JURIST report] and the other two prisoners. Reuters has more.

Earlier this month, Maliki accused the US military of thwarting Iraqi attempts to execute the three men [JURIST report], and expressed his "determination to ensure that the sentences are carried out." At that point, US commanders said they would not transfer the men to Iraqi custody until they received an "authoritative" request from the Iraqi government. Last week, Iraqi Kurdish and Shiite lawmakers criticized the delay [JURIST report] in the executions of the three men, while Sunni leaders have campaigned to commute the death sentence of Sultan Hashim al-Taie, a man many believe Hussein forced to follow orders.

The Iraqi High Tribunal sentenced [JURIST report] al-Majid and two co-defendants to death in June on genocide and war crimes charges. The Tribunal's Appeals Chamber upheld the death sentences [JURIST report] in September. Under Iraqi law, the executions were supposed to have taken place 30 days after the men were sentenced, meaning that the men should have been executed no later than October 4. Iraq's Presidency Council, including Kurdish President Jalal Talibani, Shi'ite Vice-President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, and Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi, have nonetheless refused to sign any execution order [JURIST report]. An Iraqi judge said in September that presidential approval is not required [JURIST report] to carry out an execution for al-Majid and his co-defendants, but al-Hashemi reasserted in October that the presidency did in fact have the power to block the carrying out of the death sentences [AP report], regardless of their approval by Maliki.

12/3/2007 - Responding to Negroponte's comments Monday, al-Majid defense lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano said:

The US should not surrender anyone subject to decisions made by the Iraqi High Tribunal because the appeal procedures had not yet been completed and decisions taken by the IHT may well be in violation of the international obligations underwritten by both the US and Iraq.

[JURIST] US Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte [official profile] said Sunday at a news conference in Baghdad that Iraqi lawmakers must take advantage of what he called the "significant results" of the recent security surge and enact laws aimed at political reconciliation. Negroponte, who was US ambassador to Iraq from June 2004 to April 2005, spoke with top provincial and central government leaders during a tour of nine Iraqi cities this past week. Reflecting a US government agenda laid out earlier this year in Section 1314 of the US Troop Readiness, Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 (Public Law 110-28) [PDF text] Negroponte called on the Iraqi government to enact legislation ensuring the equitable distribution of oil resources and codifying the separation of central government and provincial powers.

Negotiations over a controversial Iraqi oil bill [JURIST report] that would have governed the distribution and refinement process and given the national government control over oil revenue collapsed in September. The oil law [JURIST news archive] is one of 18 benchmarks established by Public Law 110-28 to measure US success in Iraq. Several recent reports, including the White House's Initial Benchmark Assessment Report [text; JURIST report] and a report [text, PDF] released in September by the US Government Accountability Office, conclude that the Iraqi government has not met most of those legislative, security, and economic benchmarks. Reuters has more. The Washington Post has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The Egyptian government has released [EIPR press release] two Shiite activists held in Egyptian custody since October who repeatedly criticized the systematic torture of prisoners in Egyptian custody. Mohammed al-Dereini and Ahmed Sobh are charged with “promoting extreme Shi’ite beliefs with the intent of causing contempt of the Islamic religion” and with “spreading false rumors and inciting propaganda that could promote terror amongst people." The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights [advocacy website] and the Hisham Mubarak Law Center Sundat urged asking the Egyptian Public Prosecutor to drop all charges against Dereini and Sobh, launch an investigation into their "arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention", and end the practice of detaining individuals who are exercising their right of freedom of belief and expression.

Human rights groups have recently expressed growing concern about the use of torture by Egyptian authorities. In April, Amnesty International released a report [text; JURIST report] criticizing Egypt for systematic human rights abuses of detainees in police stations, military camps and centers run by State Security Investigations. AFP has more.

[JURIST] The Bush administration is invoking a secrecy defense known as Glomarization [DOJ backgrounder] to avoid disclosing hundreds of documents concerning White House visits by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff [JURIST news archive], according to AP citing court papers filed Friday. The administration is relying on a 1976 US Supreme Court ruling in Phillippi v. CIA, a case which arose in the context of inquiries concerning an alleged CIA connection with the Glomar Explorer, Howard Hughes' submarine retrieval ship. Phillippi established the right of government agencies to flatly deny the existence of records pertaining to investigations, if acknowledging the existence of the records would, in itself, reveal exempt information. The Department of Justice claims in the Abramoff case that releasing the requested information would reveal sensitive information about Secret Service's protective function. The administration's denial comes despite a promise last year to produce all records concerning Abramoff.

In October, US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee [official website] Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) called on the White House to disclose hundreds of documents [JURIST report] relating to Abramoff. Abramoff pleaded guilty [JURIST report] in January 2006 to two conspiracy and fraud charges stemming from the 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casino [corporate website] as part of a plea agreement [PDF text] with federal prosecutors that would reduce his punishment in exchange for favorable testimony in future DOJ corruption cases. AP has more.