[JURIST] The Supreme Court of Nepal [official website] Friday ordered the Nepalese government to extend gay and transgendered people the same rights and privileges as other citizens. Gay and transgendered people face heavy discrimination in conservative Nepal [JURIST news archive], where so-called "unnatural sex" is illegal and is punishable by jail time. The ruling by Supreme Court judges Pawan Kumar Ojha and Bala Ram K.C. came in a response to a petition filed by Nepal's main gay rights group, the Blue Diamond Society (BDS) [advocacy website].

Pant said that transgendered people will now be able to identify as "third sex," a category separate from male or female, when applying for jobs, education, or government identification certificates, but a spokesperson for the court said it is still up to the government on how to interpret the decision. It is not clear that the current laws banning homosexuality will be overturned or that same-sex marriages [JURIST news archive] will be recognized. Reuters has more.

[JURIST] The US Central Intelligence agency (CIA) has requested that the Department of Justice [official websites] conduct an investigation into whether former CIA agent John Kiriakou illegally released classified information when he spoke to several news organizations last week [JURIST report] about CIA interrogations, officials said Thursday. In the interviews, Kiriakou confirmed the use of waterboarding [JURIST news archive] during the interrogations of two al Qaeda terrorist suspects, Abu Zubaydah [BBC profile] and Zayn al-Abidin Muhammed Hussein [Interpol profile]. While Kiriakou, who led Zubaydah's interrogation, expressed some disapproval of the tactic, he said its efficacy in helping to disrupt "a number of attacks, maybe dozens" outweighed its harshness. His public comments were the first by an CIA officer who was involved in handling high value al Qaeda targets. Kiriakou's lawyer said that the CIA's request is routine procedure for officers who leave the agency and that it is unlikely to result in criminal charges.

Kiriakou's comments came amid controversy surrounding the CIA's destruction of videotapes [JURIST news archive] of the interrogation of Zubaydah and Abd al-Rahim al-Sashiri [GlobalSecurity backgrounder; JURIST news archive]. CIA Director Michael Hayden acknowledged [statement text] earlier this month that the CIA had videotaped the interrogation of two al Qaeda suspects in 2002, but said that the tapes had been destroyed in 2005 amid concerns that they could be leaked to the public and compromise the identities of the interrogators. In addition to the DOJ-CIA investigation, multiple congressional inquiries have been launched into the tapes' destruction. The Washington Post has more.

[JURIST] Six French nationals connected with the abortive effort by French charity Zoe's Ark [advocacy website, in French; BBC backgrounder] to airlift so-called "Darfur orphans" out of Chad [JURIST news archive] to Europe went on trial in Chad Friday, accused of kidnapping, fraud, and forgery. Zoe's Ark founder Eric Breteau said in a written statement to the BBC that Zoe's Ark workers believed the children to be orphans from Darfur and that any confusion was the fault of intermediaries who brought the children to him. Lawyers for the six requested that Chad drop the charges, arguing that the charity workers were trying to evacuate the children from a dangerous situation as allowed under the Geneva Convention.

Last month, Chad released three Spanish air crew and a Belgian pilot [JURIST report] held in Chad in connection with the attempted airlift. Chadian authorities also freed seven Europeans [JURIST report] in early November, including three French journalists, after French President Nicolas Sarkozy personally intervened on their behalf. Three Chadians and one Sudanese national are also facing trial in Chad for complicity in kidnapping and fraud. AP has more.

[JURIST] Philippines President Gloria Arroyo [official website; BBC profile] lauded the Philippine military for working to improve human rights during a speech Friday, but human rights activists say that the armed forces continue to engage in extrajudicial killings. Human rights advocates say almost 900 people have been killed since Arroyo assumed power in 2001, while more than 180 have disappeared and are thought to have been killed. The military has denied any involvement in the killings, blaming the deaths on Communist rebels. Reuters has more.

Last month, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston released a report [DOC text; JURIST report] that said the Philippines armed forces have followed a "deliberate strategy" of killing left-wing activists. In July, Arroyo urged lawmakers [transcript; JURIST report] from both houses of Congress to pass legislation to curb extrajudicial killings and disappearances, but rights groups have said she has not fulfilled her promise to fully investigate the killings.

[JURIST] California will appeal the decision by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website] to deny its request for a waiver [JURIST report] that would have allowed it and 16 other states following its lead to impose stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards on cars and light trucks, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced [press statement, text] Thursday. Also Thursday, Congressional Democrats announced that they would begin a probe into whether the EPA decision was politically motivated. In a letter [PDF text] sent Thursday to EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) [official website] questioned whether the agency ignored evidence in rejecting the California waiver request and asked that all documents relating to the request be turned over to the committee. AP has more.

On Wednesday, Johnson told reporters that the White House prefers a single unified national standard to a state-by-state network of regulations, and pointed to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 [HR 6 materials; WH fact sheet], signed into law Wednesday by President George W. Bush. This is the first time that the EPA has denied California a waiver since Congress established the state's right to seek Clean Air Act (CAA) waivers in 1967.

[JURIST] US District Judge Henry H. Kennedy on Friday considered the merits of opening a judicial inquiry into whether the CIA's destruction of videotapes showing the interrogation of terror suspects [JURIST news archive] violated a 2005 court order. During a hearing [JURIST report] to consider an emergency motion [PDF text; JURIST report] filed on behalf of several Guantanamo Bay detainees, government lawyers urged Kennedy to delay any inquiry until the Justice Department can complete its own investigation into the matter. Kennedy has been asked to look into the tapes' destruction in light of his June 2005 order in Abdah v. Bush where Kennedy directed the government to "preserve and maintain all evidence and information regarding the torture, mistreatment, and abuse of detainees now at the United States Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." David Remes argued on behalf of the detainees that the inquiry is necessary to determine whether other evidence was destroyed, but government representative Joseph Hunt argued that a judicial inquiry would hinder the DOJ's investigation. Hunt said that the joint DOJ-CIA preliminary investigation [DOJ letter; JURIST report] will include an examination of whether any court orders were violated. AP has more.

Existence of the videotapes was verified in November after the CIA admitted it had mistakenly denied [JURIST report] that it had recorded interrogations in a court declaration during the trial of 9/11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. CIA Director Michael Hayden acknowledged [statement text] earlier this month that the CIA had videotaped the interrogation of two al Qaeda suspects in 2002, but said that the tapes had been destroyed in 2005 amid concerns that they could be leaked to the public and compromise the identities of the interrogators. In addition to the DOJ-CIA investigation, multiple congressional inquiries have been launched into the tapes' destruction.

[JURIST] California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger [official website] is considering a mass release of more than 20,000 nonviolent prisoners in hopes of staving off a projected $10 billion to $14 billion budget deficit over the next two fiscal years, the Sacramento Bee reported Friday. Only prisoners with less than 20 months remaining in their sentence would be eligible for early release; sex offenders would not be eligible. The reported proposal would free 22,159 inmates and save the state $256 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1. AP has more. The Sacramento Bee has local coverage.

In the past, Schwarzenegger has considered early release [JURIST report] as a way to alleviate the burden on California's overcrowded prison system [JURIST news archive]. In July, two federal district judges separately ordered the formation of a special three-judge panel [JURIST report] to supervise and reduce California's prison population after finding that overcrowding is preventing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) [official website] from adequately providing mental health care. In May, Schwarzenegger signed off on a $7.7 billion program to construct facilities [JURIST report] to provide 53,000 new prison and jail beds over the next five years. The construction program and release plan failed to persuade the federal judges, who were not convinced that the measures would bring compliance with the Eighth Amendment guarantee of constitutionally adequate mental health care for individuals suffering from serious mental illnesses that are incarcerated by the CDCR.

[JURIST] Thailand's National Legislative Assembly passed a controversial security law Thursday, days before the country's general elections. The Internal Security Bill grants the head of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) [Wikipedia backgrounder] power to bar public demonstrations, hold detainees without charge, and declare indefinite states of emergency. The original proposal was to appoint the army chief as head of the ISOC, but in response to criticism, the final version names the prime minister as head of ISOC and the army chief as second-in-command.

The current government has maintained that the bill is only intended to preserve internal security in Thailand [JURIST news archive], though some have criticized [Nation report] the bill as an attempt by the interim military-backed government to hold onto its political clout even after elections. Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont [BBC profile] last week refused to withdraw the proposal [JURIST report] despite protests that the parliament, handpicked by the military following the September 2006 bloodless coup [JURIST report] which ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, had no authority to pass additional legislation because of the upcoming general elections. AP has more. Xinhua has additional coverage.

[JURIST] The US House Select Committee on Intelligence on Thursday issued a subpoena [press release, PDF] for Jose Rodriguez, the former head of the CIA's clandestine branch who ordered the destruction of videotapes showing the interrogation of terror suspects [JURIST news archive]. The committee has also begun reviewing CIA records in its investigation into "the processes surrounding the tapes and Congress' requirement to be kept informed." According to a statement [PDF text] from committee Chairman Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX):

the committee is working to secure testimony for January 16 from [acting CIA General Counsel] John Rizzo and Jose Rodriguez. We are in discussions with CIA officials regarding Mr. Rizzo's testimony. We have been told that Mr. Rodriguez would like to tell his story but his counsel has advised us that a subpoena would be necessary. We therefore have issued the subpoena for Mr. Rodriguez. We look forward to his testimony as well as the testimony of others who have information about this matter.

We have no desire to block any congressional investigation. To the contrary, as we explained in our letter, we fully appreciate the importance of the Committee's oversight efforts. The wisdom, propriety and appropriateness of the decision to destroy these tapes are worthy and compelling subjects of an oversight investigation.

Furthermore, we have not advised the CIA not to cooperate with the Committee. We understand that the Committee has the full jurisdiction and prerogative to conduct this oversight over the CIA. We simply request that this oversight be conducted in a way and in a time frame that minimizes the negative implications for our preliminary inquiry - implications that could conceivably include: the disruption of our initial witness interviews, the delay and disruption of our document collection, and the tainting of any future criminal prosecutorial action because of Congressional grants of immunity to witnesses. These implications are of greatest concern at this very early stage of our preliminary inquiry - which is barely a week old – and will lessen as we proceed in the inquiry.

While we remain concerned about these potential implications for our preliminary inquiry, we are hopeful they can and will be avoided through ongoing consultation and coordination with the Committee.

[JURIST] Military prosecutors at Guantanamo Bay filed charges [PDF text] Thursday against Saudi detainee Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi was for his alleged role in a plan to bomb a ship off the coast of Yemen or in the Strait of Hormuz. Al Darbi is charged with with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism under Sections 950v(b)(28) and (25) of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) [PDF text]. He is accused of attending and working at an al Qaeda terrorist training camp and traveling to various locales in Pakistan, the UAE, and Qatar to buy materials and recruit help.

Al Darbi has denied any involvement with al Qaeda or any other terrorist activity. Reuters has more. The Miami Herald has additional coverage.

[JURIST] An Australian judge issued an interim control order Friday, placing restrictions on former Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks [JURIST news archive] when he is released from an Australian prison on December 29. Under the terms of the control order, Hicks will not be allowed to leave the country, must report to police three times per week, and will be subject to a midnight to 6 AM curfew. A defense lawyer said that Hicks will comply with the control order [ABC Australia report], which will be reviewed in court on February 18 and will be in force for at least a year.

Hicks' control order is the second issued under Australia's Anti-Terrorism Act (No.2) 2005) [ANS backgrounder], which according to a government summary allows the "overt close monitoring of terrorist suspects who pose a risk to the community." The first control order was imposed [JURIST report] in 2006 against Joseph Terrence "Jihad Jack" Thomas, suspected of having connections to al Qaeda.

Hicks was transferred to Australia [JURIST report] in May to serve the remainder of his nine-month prison sentence at a maximum security prison near his hometown of Adelaide, South Australia. He pleaded guilty to a charge of supporting terrorism [JURIST reports] before a US military commission in March after spending more than five years in US custody since being captured in Afghanistan. Reuters has more.